The first chocolate house was opened in London by a French chocolatier in 1657. Along the way techniques improved, but it wasn't until the late 19th century that chocolate began to resemble the luscious form it has today. The Spanish popularized chocolate, but the French perfected it. French chocolate is not the stuff from which Mars Bars are made. The Swiss have the best manufacturing techniques, but the ingredients are lacking.
Belgian chocolates are too heavy and sweet for the French palate.
Leave it to the country of haute couture to also invent haute chocolate. At La Maison du Chocolat, Robert Linxe has the same package designer as Herm s. It doesn't follow obediently like other ingredients. But when you capture it, you have it right there, alive, where you want it. To make foie gras, geese and ducks must be fed until their livers swell to an astounding size a goose liver can expand to weigh nearly two pounds.