Scene: A cozy café in Lyon. The smell of fresh croissants fills the air. Claire and Julien sip their café crème as rain lightly taps the window.
Claire: (looking nervously out the window) You know, I still don’t like walking home alone when it’s cloudy like this. It’s perfect Croque-Mitaine weather.
Julien: (raises an eyebrow) You’re serious? Claire, you’re 32. The Croque-Mitaine isn’t lurking in alleyways with an umbrella and a kid-snatching agenda.
Claire: (sips her coffee, defensive but playful) Laugh all you want, but my mother always warned us—if you misbehave, il va te prendre! And I swear, one night when I was 8, I heard scratching under my bed. I didn’t sleep for two nights!
Julien: I’m sure you didn’t. But that’s classic childhood fear. Our brains make things up when we’re scared. It was probably the radiator, or your cat plotting revenge.
Claire: Mimi was too old to plot revenge. But what about that story from Marseille? The one where that boy disappeared after throwing rocks at a chapel? His grandma said he defied the Croque-Mitaine, and voilà—vanished!
Julien: That boy ran away to avoid getting grounded. They found him two towns over, Claire. He was living off vending machine snacks like a tiny criminal mastermind.
Claire: (laughing but still clinging on) Okay, fine, that one had a logical explanation. But don’t you think it’s odd how kids all over France behave better when they believe something might get them? It works.
Julien: So does telling them Santa’s watching or that vegetables make them jump higher. Doesn’t make Santa or leeks magical. It’s just behavioral conditioning with a dash of drama.
Claire: You always have to ruin the magic, Julien. You probably told your little cousins that Tooth Fairy inflation is a scam too, huh?
Julien: Guilty. But I also explained how bacteria work using gummy bears. That’s magical in its own way.
Claire: Ugh. So boring. There’s something charming about old traditions, though. They’re part of who we are. I don’t actually think the Croque-Mitaine will snatch me—but it’s… comforting. Like a weird uncle who only visits if you mess up.
Julien: Okay, I get that. Stories have power. I love myths too. But there’s a line between respecting tradition and letting it shape how we raise our kids or make decisions. What if someone actually scared their kid into trauma over this?
Claire: (pauses, thoughtful) Yeah… I guess fear shouldn’t be the tool of choice. But it’s a better story than “be good because… society says so.”
Julien: Fair. But imagine replacing the Croque-Mitaine with a cool cartoon germ that teaches hygiene. Same effect—less existential dread.
Claire: Hmm… Germinator: Defender of the Hands. You might be onto something.
Julien: See? Science can be fun.
Claire: I’ll let you pitch that to my nieces. But if they end up terrified of soap dispensers, I’m blaming you.
Julien: Deal. And if the Croque-Mitaine actually shows up—I’ll buy you dinner. A fancy one.
Claire: You’re on. But when he drags you into the shadows for mocking him, don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Julien: I’ll leave a note for science.
[They clink cups, the argument settled—sort of—with warmth and wit.]
Science Vs Superstition 
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