EGIDE
Student's guide > Day-to-day life
During the duration of their stay in France, foreign students must learn to adapt to the customs and laws in force of the country. Some useful hints and advices:
In France it is forbidden to smoke in public places. You can even be fined for this.
In cafés and restaurants, there is a section reserved for smokers. Smoking may be banned on your campus.
Students have the reputation of being sometimes a noisy lot...! A golden rule: Show respects for others by moderating your noise. It will avoid unpleasant situations of complaints to the police.
Make sure you have a valid ticket on public transport. Don't forget to punch your ticket in the special machines in buses/trams or on station platforms. Fines for failure to do so can be costly.
All towns have hypermarkets close to the campuses for shopping for food and everyday necessities. They are usually open till 8pm or 9pm. There are also small neighborhood grocery stores which are sometimes open late. All cities have outdoor markets, which are just as much a nice opportunity for a pleasant walk as for shopping.
On-line shopping with home delivery is also now possible for the lazy student !
A baguette loaf of bread: €0.70
A kilo of potatoes: €2
A Kilo of carrots: €1.40
A kilo of rice: €2.80
Beef (price for a kilo of steak): €19
Eggs (half-dozen): €1.80
A Kilo of apples: €2.30
A liter of oil: €2.80
A Kilo of sugar: €1.60
A liter of milk: €1
Ground coffee (250 grams): €2.60
A Camembert cheese (250 grams): €2.30
In cafés, brasseries and bakeries it is possible to find sandwiches for about €3. The major American or French fast-food chains propose their usual range of products and menus at around €5 to €7.
Traditional restaurants offer extremely varied prices, depending on their range and quality...
You can find restaurants with practically all of the cuisines of the world. Oriental, Italian, Indian or Mexican restaurants are very widespread. Prices vary from €10 for a small neighborhood bistro to €20 in classical restaurants... and some restaurants can charge much more. You can and probably will eat in your GEM campus restaurant. Each GEM campus has its own meal services at very reasonable prices, between €2 and €3 for a full meal.
Certain eating habits might surprise foreigners upon their arrival in France. So here below is a guide to typical French meal habits.
The French generally eat three meals a day:
Breakfast in the morning. A bowl of tea or coffee and bread and butter or bread and jam, and/or cereal and yoghurt.
Lunch at around 12 or 1pm. A full meal sith a starter, hot dish, cheese and/or dessert.
Dinner . Around 7-8pm. Similar to lunch.
In terms of drinking, the French consume a lot of mineral water. The French are, of course, fond of wine.
Eating habits, however, are changing and many young people are following patterns that remind us of those of the Anglo-Saxon countries.