Yes. The French have gravy, or gravy-like sauces, with a lot of different meals. What makes French cuisine different from British cooking is that, in France, people are unlikely to add gravy to an otherwise-unrelated dish. When making recipes such as coq au vin the French will make a sauce, or jus, that derives from and complements the overall dish. It is uncommon, however, to simply add gravy sauce to a plate of food, as the British might do with pies, bangers and mash, nut roasts, fish and chips or practically any foodstuffs they can lay their hands on.
Herein lies the key difference. The French regard gravy as an integral part of a particular meal, one that is practically inseparable from the dish and would seem out-of-place if found elsewhere. The Anglo-Saxon viewpoint, in contrast, is that gravy is an autonomous being, practically a meal in itself and is essentially so wonderful that it should be allowed to go wherever it likes, whenever it likes. To the British, gravy transcends rationality, suitability or need; everything is made better with gravy. The English phrase "it’s all gravy” is testament to the unwritten, deep-seated belief that the concept of gravy is intrinsically good and universally applicable. No amount of gravy is too much, no meal is worsened by its introduction.
Whilst French cuisine may not have embraced gravy as an independent actor in the same way as British cuisine, there is some evidence to show that gravy consumption is still respectable on the continental side of the Channel. The Trading Post sell literally tons of gravy granules every year, stocking a wide range of Bisto gravies for every kind of meal (onion, beef, chicken, turkey, vegetable) as well as gravy powder for easily making your own gravy from roasting meat juices and stocks. This is, in part, due to the healthy British expat communities throughout Metropolitan France, but also reflects a wider appreciation of gravy as an improver of meals (and lives) in general. With gluten-free gravies available and most Bisto gravies being vegan or vegetarian, this movement towards acceptance is equally related to the shift to alternative, low-meat and low-gluten diets that is ever-developing in contemporary France.
I have a dream today. I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and every person will be able to sit down at the table of brotherhood and elevate every plate through the addition of lashings and lashings of thick, delicious gravy.
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