The time French people spend on eating meals in restaurants has already gone down: in 1975,
a lunch out would take an average of one and a half hours. By 2005, it had fallen to 32 minutes. Danièle Deleval, vice president of the UMIH restaurant and hotel union, said: “We’re very worried. Since the start of the year, the number of restaurant customers has dropped, on average, 20% and we’re seeing no signs of improvement.”