Like Rebecca at Uh oh Spaghettios, I too saw Jack o'Lanters for sale at the grocery store, and big sugar pumpkins too, not the small ones you usually find which are meant to be eaten.
I went to a Halloween themed cremaillère last night and tonight B and I are going to another one (that I think is themed, to be verified), but in the end, I don't think Halloween in France will ever resemble Anglophone Halloween.
For one, French houses are not suited to trick or treating. Most houses have gates at the sidewalk and you have to be buzzed in. This is not at all conducive to children visiting all the houses in the neighborhood to ask for candy. I can hardly imagine people propping their gates open for the evening and then waiting on the porch to compensate for this difficulty. In the States pumpkins are displayed right outside the front door or on the steps, often for a few days leading up to Halloween, which again wouldn't be seen in France.
Second, the fact that children are always on Toussaint vacation for Halloween really kills the momentum. Children can't wear their costumes to school, like they can and do for Mardi Gras. Since Halloween is a public holiday (as opposed to Thanksgiving and Christmas), it's important to be able to show off and show that you're participating.
Third, French people just don't know how/what to do. Penelope Bagieu's drawing shows that you need people who already know how to celebrate (parents, in America) who teach others (their kids). When I explain to French people that I dressed up as a princess for Halloween as a kid, they're confused because for them Halloween is all about being scary. Dressing up as a lion or a cowboy or Tinkerbell is not a known option in France.
Fourth, French people's need for privacy doesn't mesh with the idea that you spend money on candy you're going to give away to strangers' kids. French libraries don't even let you borrow books for free, so why would people give candy away? This is related to French houses having a gate at the sidewalk to people can't walk in/see your garden and the need for privacy. Whether or not people celebrate a holiday and the way they celebrate it is usually a private matter in France. Caroling, another public aspect of Christmas in the States, doesn't exist in France. As B says "That sounds like stalking. You mean you go sing to people you don't know?" There's no spreading of the cheer in France, or group participation in holidays because they are considered part of the sphere of private activities.
Maybe in the next few years Halloween will catch on as stores persist in selling Halloween themed items. I know it's had varied popularity and when it first came to France was celebrated more as an adult holiday and an excuse to have a party. But I think there are some structural difficulties inherent to French culture which will make it slow to develop.
But in any case, Happy Halloween!
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