A French exit means the well-mannered departing French person spends between 5 and 15 minutes---depending on the size of the group---kissing everyone on the cheeks ("la bise") as casual goodbye. The French are very polite and therefore very diligent about formalities and manners, and would never leave a casual get-together without first doing "la bise" to everyone in the room. Equally, they would never leave a formal gathering without shaking everyone's hands first. The French have a saying "filer à l'anglaise" or "to take English leave" because, in France, it is considered very rude to leave a get-together without first paying one's respects to the host, but anglos rudely depart without preambles nor goodbyes. This saying here is misconstrued, inaccurate and retaliatory.
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