It really is like comparing apples and oranges in France it's normal for a two hour dinner break in England it would normally be 1 hour or maybe 1/2 hour
Where I work we have a 10minuite tea break in the morning and 25 minutes in the afternoon
Not sure what type of shops you are referring to in France that stay open until 8pm or 9pm do you mean all shops? That'd be great as long as you are not a shop worker!!
The way the French people stand up to their government is something to be admired imo
I'm not sure what english businesses you are referring to that shut down over Christmas /January ?? But I wish I worked for them!
I do find things in France frustrating , having to wait when shops are closed for two hours/petrol stations that you have to leave your passport behind the counter before you can fill up etc
1, I have never been asked to leave a passport behind a counter in France for refueling, regardless of where the vehicle was registered! In any case most stations have a card pump these days. (Now in the US, I have been asked many times to pay before pumping!)
2, You can buy freshly baked bread at 7am or 7pm! Or go to the supermarket at most times of the day just as you can elsewhere, but not at night like in the US or UK.
3, Shop opening hours are different to UK, but tend to be rather more practical, generally allowing those who work to also shop! A lot of supermarkets are now open right through lunch, but not all.
And in tourist areas opening times very often allow those out at dinner in the evening to also promenade and shop! I never experienced that in the UK.
4, 2 hour lunch breaks are rare for working people, even when I was fortunate enough to be entertained in executive dining rooms, we would be back in our meeting rooms working within an hour! (with the wonderful exception of lunch on the Dassault boat moored on the Seine!) In my experience it is also rare for French managers to leave work before 7pm regardless of the time the shop floor is closed.
I worked with French and other European aerospace companies in the past, I found the intensity didn't change a lot until you went to Greece or Portugal.
Today, in retirement, I live in Normandy, exactly for the reduced pace of life that people enjoy outside of work.
It isn't all sweetness and light, but I feel it is easy to adjust to most things, except perhaps to the the bureacracy, that as a visitor you won't need to interact with. But even French people will tell you about difficulties there. And in fact I have dealt with some really helpful and pleasant people, it helps to smile and open in French, almost no matter how bad your French is!
In the UK I have had many extended Christmas holidays that I really didn't want because the company prefered to close for 2 weeks in December/January....very annoying...
working in Italy for 8 years I had to take a month off in August, whether I wanted to or not, absolutely brilliant because it was too hot to work anyway! It is pretty much like that in parts of France, but as I said before, it tends to start on Bastile Day...probably just when the OP tried to contact Alton....poor timing and a slight lack of awareness.
As for that experience personaly I think it is no different to my experience with Elextrex World in the UK, trying to get information for their self generating ignition system! Small suppliers can be a pain like that the whole world over, because the person needed toanswer your query is busy answering someone elses, and when they are on holiday there is no cover.