Core77

The closest thing to French cafe society we Americans have ever had was the drive-in restaurant, and, well, we all know how that turned out.

Sadly, the French antecedent may also be falling by the wayside. As a recent Times article points out,

In 1960, France had 200,000 cafes, said Bernard Quartier, president of the National Federation of Cafes, Brasseries and Discotheques. Now it has fewer than 41,500, with an average of two closing every day.

Factors to blame are manifold: the smoking ban, a crap economy, and most disturbingly, a cultural shift: "The way of life has changed," said cafe owner Bernard Picolet. "The French are no longer eating and drinking like the French. They are eating and drinking like the Anglo-Saxons.... They eat less and spend less time at it."

Well, for as long as it's lasted, at least the French were burning calories--and not leaded gasoline--to get there.