An oxymoron? Being a vegetarian in France

Every week the La Poste brings us a great wad of glossy papers – the pub – advertising leaflets from the local supermarkets, brico warehouses and travelling markets. Many people have a ‘pas de pub’ sticker on their letterbox and we must do the same. We used to practise our French by reading the latest offering for the semaine de porc, fête de vins and the Aldi special offers. Since our move towards vegetarian there is nothing for us, and the sight of slabs of raw meat only reinforces our resolve. Last week, before dumping a two-inch thick wad of paper into the recycling bin, I checked through the suggestions for Fête de Noel and Reveillon from L.Eclerc and SuperU. Page after glossy page of dead animals, foie gras, seafood and plats prepareés – nothing remotely vegetarian.

 

France is not a good country for the meat-free, but it’s not impossible. Vegetarian and vegan restaurants can be found in most of the larger cities, although I have not yet been able been to find one in Limoges. A Google search suggested Le Petit Ventres (little tummies) in Rue de Boucherie (butchery street) – the translations were not a good omen – but the website menu began with ‘regional starters based on lambs’ brains’ so I knew this was a no-go. Maybe the location was the clue! Even Tripadvisor draws a bank so the search continues.

There is no doubt that locally the vegetarian lifestyle would be considered alternative, somewhat hippie, and tied in to excessive concern about animal welfare, climate change and eco warriors. The Limousin has more cows per hectare than human beings, and the Chasse (old men in orange gilets with shotguns and dogs) is out chasing deer, wild boar and the local cat population several times a week from October to March. Our cat is never allowed out when their ancient white Citroën vans are roaring up and down the lanes.

At the moment, therefore, we are low-profile vegetarians; the French use the term végétarian à la maison. One of the first problems we experienced is the difficulty of knowing whether a product would actually meet the ‘suitable for vegetarians’ criteria. In the UK, many branded products sport the Vegetarian Society’s seeding symbol, a legally registered trademark for vegetarian accreditation and most supermarkets will label their own-brand products as suitable for vegetarians. Indeed, the likes of Tesco and Sainsbury’s have their own range of vegetarian foods. Here in France there are no such easy solutions to labelling. Of course, most products have a list of ingredients and the EU recommended nutritional information, but you can often buy a goats cheese and spinach quiche only to find a few lardons or a bit of smoked salmon lurking in the filling. Reading the labels is so time consuming, and relies on having my reading glasses handy!

Although ‘pure’ vegetarian food can be difficult to locate, organic products, or bio as it is usually labelled here in widely available, even in the smallest of supermarkets. There are also dedicated bio-coops and markets. We’d already identified a couple of good bio shops during The Great Quinoa Search. Here we can get tofu and soya mince ­– nothing sophisticated like Quorn, just good old dried TVP. France seems to be about twenty years behind when it comes to vegetarianism, perhaps they are reluctant to lose their reputation for haute cuisine by diluting the repertoire of predominantly meat-based classics?