Vegetarian child in France

[Booboostwo]

My DD (6yo CP) has decided to become a vegetarian (for ethical reasons she is upset at the idea of killing and eating animals. The rest of us eat meat, I know it may not last but she's been veggie for 2 months now so we'll see).

I know there is no veggie option at school cantine so I asked today if she could bring some food from home to supplement what is on offer. The situation seemed to take the head teacher by surprise and she said they had to consult with the authorities that provide the meals - an acronym was mentioned but I didn't catch it.

Does anyone else have a vegetarian child in French school? I was not expecting this to be so complicated!

I'm in France and veggie too (though my Ds's do eat meat) I wrote to our local council to ask them to consider offering a veggie meal at college - which they are debating - yay! I'm not holding my breath, but as others have said it's slowly changing - the thought of Carrefour stocking Quorn when we arrived in 2004
Sorry I've no practical solutions, but wanted you to know you have support!

It is slowly getting better for veggies in France. A couple of chains now highlight veggie meals on their menus and they definitely don't include fish (although I am not sure about the cheese being without rennet) Of course these chains tend to be in big towns rather than holiday destinations.
The range of food available in the supermarket has also improved on the last 15 years.
I went to a housewarming party last year and met lots of new veggies. There had been a documentary on the meat industry a month before. I wonder if they have continued?

My son is vegan. He hasn't been to France since he became vegan but from memory he will find it a real challenge.

Interestingly he went to a small town in Romania a few weeks ago for a holiday and I warned him that he might find it very difficult to be vegan there. He will eat eggs and cheese if there is absolutely no other option so was prepared to do that. However, he said that vegans were really well catered for and he was able to get appropriate food everywhere which I was really surprised about.

How medieval! Espically seeing how popular veganism is these days.

Reminds me of an awful french guy I knew that would constantly try to get me to eat meat and blame any problem I had on not eating meat.

I do wonder why these ethical veggies aren't vegans, is that often a progression later?

On a recent visit to France, I noticed two vegetarian restaurants. I took a photograph of one because I was so surprised! Perhaps (very cautious) change is afoot. One was in a village in the Dordogne, the other in Brittany (where I found eating much easier).

I struggle in France because I can't eat bread and, although not vegetarian, I don't like to eat a lot of meat. Puy lentils become something of a staple for me, as do galettes with cheese, mushrooms, courgette and onions.

You all have me worried.

I'm a strict vegan (strict because I have a dairy allergy) and we are going to the south of France for a few weeks soon.... I'm going to starve!

When we've been to France previously we've always stayed rurally so we've mostly shopped and cooked ourselves, so it wasn't a problem.

Boob
My advice for your DD would be to give her a really big breakfast and a snack for the journey to school and maybe some fruit in her bag for break time and then a snack for the journey home and a big dinner.

That's pretty much how I survived primary school as being vegan was not accomodated for well. Basically I could have a meat free option or a dairy free option, I couldn't have both, so it was something cheesy or creamy that would make me ill and possibly kill me or something that would make me ill and go against my beliefs.
The schools suggestion was to eat around what I didn't like
So my school lunches were mostly the small portion of vegetables and maybe some chips for many years.

Shhhhhh don't mention veganism near DD!

You can get a different school meal only for reasons of allergies and you have to have a (regularly renewed) medical certificate from a doctor stating what can and can't be eaten. Most children go home for lunch in cases where a different meal is necessary for them.

Religious or ethical reasons for requiring a different meal are not considered valid or relevant and do not apply, only medical ones.

In secondary school they can be externe ie not eat at school so they all go to the kebab shop or a boulangerie that does salads and sandwiches.