Madam, - In her comments about Frenchwomen eating only salads to stay "skinny" (Opinion & Analysis, August 28th), Ailish Connelly should have cited the views of real Frenchwomen and not only "women friends who live in France".
She would have learned that the French (women and men) eat bread with every meal - and that's three times a day. She would have learned that the French - even the women, believe me - eat fresh baguettes and croissants not only with their café au lait at breakfast, but during the day like Irish people do.
As for salads, when the temperatures reach 28 or 30 degrees, yes, it is true that women and men in France eat salads - like women and men in all the Mediterranean countries. They're certainly better than cassoulet or fondue savoyarde in the hot sun!
As for the price of a pint of lager, is it so surprising it costs more in France than in Ireland or England, where it is produced? And I'm not certain that Ailish stayed in an ideal place to discover all the finest French gastronomy and wine - a holiday campsite built for Anglo-Saxon and German tourists isn't the best place for that as a rule. The Irish should stop comparing themselves with people from other nationalities and should start to live for themselves, without saying that other people are not "so great". - Yours, etc,
YOLAINE MAILLET, Tara Court, Balbriggan, Co Dublin.