Excellent explanation Ian…
If not using my actual name… some French friends will introduce me to others as “mon amie britannique”… others will say “mon amie anglaise” and some will simply greet me enthusiastically as “ma petite anglaise” … as far as they are concerned, British/English are interchangeable…
For them to burrow into the complexities of GB, UK or just Britain… is a no-go 
I think I had the right definition:
Thank you, Stella. My best French friend asked me to explain and ended up with that look one has when having eaten far too much already but doesn’t want to leave any.
I felt the same when he tried to explain DOM/TOM, Overseas Dependencies, etc.
Can vouch for that Simon our local one has been doing it for ages.
There is home delivery Mandy, not that I use it. I see Carrefour staff collecting stuff from the shelves all the time.
But this is just one of the supermarket chains and only in selective high density areas. (Yes Simon I know you have already mentioned Intermarche but it’s not nationwde).
It’s just not possible to compare this with the UK where every major supermarket chain does home delivery and even some of the minor ones (e.g Iceland). Tesco, for example, charge just £6.99 a month for home delivery provided you spend £40 for each order, Waitrose deliver for free but you have to spend £60 and Iceland also deliver for free. The service has been available for at least 10 years in the UK.
Argos, for example, will deliver the same day if you order by 6pm. I know it’s not a supermarket but that’s an extraordinary service.
France is way way behind the UK in terms of this kind of service but it’s understandable because of the sparseness of the population.
I don’t think the Var is high density Mandy and Carrefour say they are rolling it out nationwide. Regarding bricks and mortar vs home delivery, I would have though the local marché was more of an issue for supermarkets. Many people want to squeeze their own plums, etc. rather than getting them delivered pre squeezed.
Their website says currently available in 35 agglomérations and the map shows that vast areas of France are not covered. I also used to see staff collecting things from shelves in the Tarn but that was for the drive service where you have to go and collect the shopping. Perhaps that’s what you are seeing.
Hummmm…possibly to begin with but that ‘good old days’ perceived quaintness soon wears off 
It turns out the good old days weren’t!
And no, no intention of ever going back to the UK - if I have a choice…
If you are going to quote me please quote me in full. I was referring to supermarket delivery services NOT France in general.
Nostalgia isn’t what it used to be 
Regards the availability of 24/7 door to door shopping etc it’s unlikely France will copy the UK as there simply isn’t a call for it, the culture is different which is why most of us moved here, they trialled 24 hour shopping in a few supermarkets last year but the results were underwhelming so I doubt we’ll see that locally anytime soon.
The difference is obvious
France is way way behind the UK in terms of this kind of service but it’s understandable because of the sparseness of the population.
France is way way behind the UK
I can see the difference
So can I!
Will delete my post, it is not being taken in a light-hearted way that it was intended to be taken.
I didn’t mean to make it a big issue I just don’t like to be misrepresented Michael. Thanks for deleting your post.
Mandy you to tend to make a lot of posts a big issue, count me out of any more discussions with you.
Mandy is one of the most amenable, reasonable posters on this forum
So that counts me out, you cannot please everybody when you write posts on a forum so please stop taking sides Nellie when you agree with a post that others might not agree with.