France's gastronomic and regional diversity is probably greater than that of any other country. An exasperated Charles de Gaulle once famously remarked "How can anyone be expected to govern a country that produces 265 different cheeses?" (The official count is closer to 400.)
A gastronomic pilgrim traveling the southwest coast from La Rochelle to the Spanish border (a distance of some 300 miles) could encounter more than 500 seafood dishes. The French pleasure in food is most apparent at the street markets. For the visitor, a tour of a French market is an education in the nature of Gallic society.
Established food markets are also busiest on market days; French butchers and fishmongers are masters of their craft, and dispense verbal recipes with each purchase, while sellers of cheese or fruit will ask if your purchase is for that evening or the next day, and select the produce accordingly.
Although daily marketing at local shops and markets is still the general rule in France, giant supermarkets filled with prepackaged bread, vegetables, diet cuisine, and frozen foods are really popular, and there is concern that individual shops will eventually find it hard to compete. Bakeries are a good example of this. The traditional French baguette is made with no fat and goes stale in a matter of hours.
As bakers become increasingly reluctant to bake twice a day, so the French have changed their habits, buying their bread once a day instead of, as was customary, twice. And so the baguette seems to get flabbier as more preservatives are added. the faster-paced lifestyle of modern France is fueled by microwavable meals and chains of fast-food restaurants.