Long seen as a practice associated with inferior US cuisine, restaurants will now be legally obliged to furnish doggy bags upon request. Only restaurants with “all you can eat” menus are exempt from the law.

Denis Courtiade, of the Alain Ducasse restaurant in Paris, said earlier this month: “In the USA, in Asia and even the Middle East, helpings are generous and the dishes are easy-going while in France the serving is usually less full and it is created in a more individual fashion. And in many French families, children are taught very early to finish their plates.”

A report on food waste issued by the government said: “In France the obstacle is mostly cultural. The majority of diners don’t dare ask for the leftovers of their meal, while the restaurateurs see it as a deterioration of their dishes.”