I've au paired in France for an eight year old girl, and she could scream and tantrum with the best of them - just never in public! And @headsign is kind of right though I'm not sure to what extent - smacking your child on the bottom is still an acceptable way to discipline your child in France, in my experience.
Having said that, the girl I looked after was still very good at eating vegetables. I think the reason there is that lunch/dinner time in France is always a family sit-down-at-the-table affair, and vegetables are integrated into childrens diet at a very early age (real vegetables from the market too!) Also you're expected to stay at the table for hours to eat and chat, not like the British/American way of getting dinner out of the way as quickly as possible.
Having said that, the girl I looked after was still very good at eating vegetables. I think the reason there is that lunch/dinner time in France is always a family sit-down-at-the-table affair, and vegetables are integrated into childrens diet at a very early age (real vegetables from the market too!) Also you're expected to stay at the table for hours to eat and chat, not like the British/American way of getting dinner out of the way as quickly as possible.