Halloween was first celebrated in France in the 1980s only within English communities, but it didn't become widely known until the early 1990s. In 1992, a costume company marketed products to establish Halloween in France, but 1997 saw major marketing campaigns from American companies like Disney, Coca-Cola, and McDonald's that helped popularize the holiday. While young people in France celebrate Halloween with costume parties, the traditions remain more focused on "scary" costumes rather than themes popular in the US and UK. However, Halloween in France is also controversial as it distracts from traditional French observances in late October and early November that honor the dead in cemeteries and religious services.

2. Halloween, as a folk celebration, only appeared in France in the 80’s and at that time was only
celebrated by the English speaking communities in bars or restaurants. The French only
became familiar with Halloween at the beginning of the 90’s. In 1992 the company César who
specialized in fancy dress costumes, decided to work on a way to settle in France and market
their products but THE year of the massive marketing launching was 1997 when American
companies such as Disneyland, Coca-Cola and McDonalds began using Halloween images in
publicity campaigns in the country. Even the French telecommunication society France
Telecom commercialized an orange cell-phone named Olaween.

3. Halloween in France is usually celebrated by young people in costumes
going to parties at friends' places, parties or clubs. The costumes
themselves tend to be traditionally "scary" (vampires, ghosts and
witches, rather than costumes like princesses, superheroes or even
policemen or nurses which are popular in the United States and Great
Britain.
Nowadays, Halloween in France is rather controversial, due to several
reasons. The main reason is that traditionally, between October 31st
and November 2nd, the French, particularly older generations, visit
cemeteries, honor saints, and attend religious services. Therefore,
Halloween is seen as a distraction and a lack of respect to these
celebrations of dead people