Frenchman here. I leave the office at 6pm at the latest, and I take 2 hour lunch breaks everyday. :)
Good for you - not for me.
I do intermittent fasting. I often eat by 4pm.
Should I need the government authorization to eat at my desk at 4pm? (or leave at 4pm to eat at home which is equivalent to you leaving at 6pm after a 2h lunch break)
Or would I need to take a 2h break I don't want to?
Government regulation of lifestyles is acceptable when you have an extremely homogeneous population and culture: this can work in Japan. This might work in France. This sure won't work here in the US.
Not eating after 4pm is a very very rare condition in the entire world. I wouldn't expect everyone, or anyone, to take that into consideration of any policy.
Can you point out where the article says that? All I see is "The government's answer: ban lunch in the workplace."
> Until now, any company allowing employees to eat lunch at their desks was subject to a fine if discovered by the inspectors who enforce the labor code. The employee in question faced unspecified disciplinary action.[0]
The "until now" refers to the suspension of the law in 2021 to promote social distancing due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That suspension has since expired, so eating at one's desk is once again prohibited.
The actual law is Article R4228-19: "Il est interdit de laisser les travailleurs prendre leur repas dans les locaux affectés au travail."[1] Google translates this as "It is forbidden to allow workers to take their meals in the premises assigned to the work."
[0] https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/07/world/europe/france-desk-...
[1] https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/codes/article_lc/LEGIARTI0000...