In France, education is mandatory until the age of 161. Children have to be educated in a public (free and secular) or private school. With permission, education may also be provided in the family. This obligation applies from the age of 3, for all French or foreign children residing in France. In 1971, the French Ministry of Education issued the first circular on school catering, which marked the beginning of school meal nutrition guidelinesin France. Recommendations were formulated regarding the safety and nutritional quality of the meals served. They were regularly updated until they became compulsory, in 2011, under a legislative framework imposing a list of rules, including the number of components in a meal and the frequency of service of certain types of dishes. More recently, criteria concerning the environmental (quality products, organic products, vegetarian meals) and social sustainability have been integrated into school meal public policies.