What to buy for self catering in France?

[bornonvalentines]

Hi, I'm hosting a gang of friends in France from tomorrow. I'm getting there first and going to the hyper market to get stocks in.

I was thinking:
Salad leaves
Tuna
Roast Chicken
Cooked Prawns
Croissants and Jams

There will be some suppers at home too.

What else would you buy? Thanks in advance.

[AtleastitsnotMonday]

Nice bread
Eggs
Cheese
Fruit

[frenchfancy]

Nutella
Paté
Melon
Sliced meat
Cornichons

[bornonvalentines]

Yes, Cheese. All the cheese!

[Jeippinghmip]

French supermarkets are very well stocked, they have everything you could want.

The cheese section will be huge, so much to choose from. Fresh olives are on sale at the moment and are delicious.

Don’t buy croissants in a supermarket, they are grim. Get them from the local bolangerie when you buy your bread.

[donkeysandzebras]

Wine!
Breads
Cheese
Other salad bits
Crisps/olive/dip type things
Fruit
Soft drinks

[gastropod]

Aperitif stuff. It's a way of life in France! Apéro can go on all night and just turn into dinner half way through:
Olives, breadsticks, saucisson, ham, little cheese cubes, radishes, cherry tomatoes, crackers, nuts, dips...
And crème de cassis and white wine for kir, pineau, sparking wine...

[BakedBeans47]

Cold meats
Cheese
Salads like tabbouleh/celeriac remoulde/beetroot
Tomatoes
Dips/mayonnaise
Crisps/crackers
Olives
Pate
Rillettes
Fruit
Wine/beer/soft drinks

[DandelionAndBedrock]

Sparkling water so that you can make afternoon spritzers

Ice

Agree with leaving croissants - get someone to do a daily boulangerie run if possible.

Milk! French milk isn’t always the best, but worth having some.

Lemons and limes and other drink garnishes.

Lovely French butter.

If there is a Picard around, they have amazing frozen things - ice cream and the usual stuff but also scallops, eclairs, all sorts of things you wouldn’t expect to find.