French banks usually give a (small) credit line above which deposits must stay (interest-free). Below it you pay the full fledged interest rate + fee. The debit cards tend to debit your purchases at the end of the month too. So in the usual case, within the credit line, it is financed by fees rather than interests.
However credit cards do exist, even if they have been maligned for a long time in media:
Major credit card issuers in France are often linked to the retail sector (see http://www.pass.fr) .. others got consolidated into traditional banks (cetelem for example)
The traditionally French "no permanent credit" model for banks tend to raise fees and favour low deposits I guess.
In both cases anyway the banks pray on the poor / moderately poor people to "dress them up" with all sorts of products and credits they don't need. (And arguably, that society pays up after 30 years)
However credit cards do exist, even if they have been maligned for a long time in media:
Major credit card issuers in France are often linked to the retail sector (see http://www.pass.fr) .. others got consolidated into traditional banks (cetelem for example)
The traditionally French "no permanent credit" model for banks tend to raise fees and favour low deposits I guess.
In both cases anyway the banks pray on the poor / moderately poor people to "dress them up" with all sorts of products and credits they don't need. (And arguably, that society pays up after 30 years)