I am an enormous fan of France and all things French- what would I be doing here otherwise- but must admit that they do have a couple of tiny faults and the one that surprises me most is they have yet to discover the amazing benefits of the side plate.

Arrive at any restaurant in France for lunch or dinner and it is likely that the first thing you will be served is a basket full of fresh cut baguette.

This you will tear into pieces directly on the table, tossing gobbets of bread into your mouth as you go.
Now given the Irish sliced pan with its damp adhesive quality one could manage to do this in Ireland and leave virtually no mess.
But the French like their bread both fresh and crusty so the resulting pile of breadcrumbs on the table grows as the meal progresses.
(No matter how cheap the meal a French waiter will be vigilant to insure that your basket always is full of bread all the way through the meal)

No if you go up-market and go to a restaurant which has linen table cloths this crumb scattering will end up being an extra chore for the waiter for, as well as making sure that you always have bread to hand, he will take it as his duty when the mountain of crumbs becomes unmanageable to sweep them up.
There are various ways by which he can do this.
The lower class of tablecloth establishment waiter will merely brush them off with his cloth into his hand, or a plate he has lifted, and depart.
Classier joints will have a sort of dotey little dust pan and brush with which they will clear up the mess, but , best of all,in some of the trendier establishments, they have an ingenious little model of the carpet sweeper which they then (without embarrassment) roll over your table.
It always strikes me that their lives would have been made so much easier if they had decided to embrace the side plate.