Although tea is not as popular in France as in England (the English drink an average of 2000 cups per year; the French only 75-80), afternoon tea is a favorite ritual in France. Paris has numerous salons de thé, which serve pastries, elegant sandwiches, and other delicacies.

Although you learned in your textbook that café life has declined in France over the past 30 years, it is still a social center for French of all ages. There are approximately 15,000-20,000 cafés in Paris alone. Some are small neighborhood cafés, where friends gather to chat, read the paper, and play pinball. Others, especially in Paris, are large, vibrant spaces with expansive terraces, where tourists and French alike gather to watch the passersby. During World War II, Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, and other notable French writers would spend their entire day at the Café de Flore, in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés section of Paris. They would write in the morning, drink with friends in the afternoon, and accept appointments in the evening, leaving only briefly when the air raids sounded.

The latest addition to the café scene is the cybercafé, where one can surf the web while having a café crème. Here is the menu for the boissons chaudes from the Café Orbital, located in the 6th arrondissement near the Jardin du Luxembourg in Paris:

1			Considérez Est-ce qu’il y a des cybercafés chez vous? Qu’est-ce qu’on y sert?