This article compares the United States to France.
TEASER: But the French make an intriguing point for keeping "life partner" and "best friend" reserved for separate people. For one, they know that mystery is a good thing in a relationship. They don't go to the bathroom with the door open and they don't feel the need to tell their partner everything (Of course, this is different than keeping secrets, which is never okay, even in the French person's modern relationship.) They don't have to do everything together, and prefer to have at least some separate interests, friends, and routines.
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The French don't really "date: as we think of it in the US. In fact, they don't even have a word in the French language for a date. The closest equivalent would be rendez-vouz, which can also describe anything from a doctor's appointment to grabbing a coffee with a friend. A rendez-vouz galant (a romantic encounter) is old fashioned, a little too intense, and rarely used People meet potential partners in groups and social settings, rather than at one on one dinners.
Even when it comes time to spend one on one, they'd opt for a casual stroll or to go to a museum; anything that avoids that awkward first-date experience we all know well, which feels more like an awkward job interview than meeting a potential romantic partner. Once this "dating" occurs, it's pretty much assumed to be exclusive, no need to have "the talk" because exclusivity is implied. One on one is a serious step...
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