Eating a salad at your desk may not be the most memorable kind of lunch, but at least you can get some work done. In France, that’s forbidden.

The French labor code prohibits workers from eating lunch in the workplace. The solo work lunch is also shunned in a culture that prizes a change of pace — and scenery — during the midday meal.

But the French lunch break wasn’t always about bistros, leisurely meals and 90 minutes of amiable conversation. Many workers originally rejected the idea of leaving the workplace at all.

So what did it take for the French to finally take a break?

It turns out that the French lunch break was born in the 1890’s during a public health crisis and was nearly killed in another. Read more HERE.

These days, it’s a standard sight to see workplaces shut their doors and bistros and restaurants swell with lunchtime patrons. The separation between work and lunch is almost sacrosanct.

Ninety minutes, free-flowing conversation, perhaps a glass of wine — by the time the COVID-19 pandemic reached France, the familiar rhythms of the French lunch break had long been established.

Martin Bruegel insists “People are just simply happier when they take some downtime during the workday,” he says. “It’s good for their well-being.” The lunch break is not just good for individuals or the companies they work for. It’s good for society.

Bruegel says “People who eat together are able to talk about issues, and they can work out tensions or different opinions. They create a culture in which having different points of view is possible.”

Although COVID stopped the French from taking lunch breaks for a while most are going back to the daily ritual of a shared meal, carving out a space that they get to make their own, even as they do it together.