Lateness

http://deadspin.com/5477230/nyu-business-school-professor-has-mastered-the-art-of-email-flaming

This link has been making the rounds, but recently it inspired a little discussion about what happens here, in France, when people are late.
As of day 1 I noticed that things are a little different here with respect to class starting. I got to class 10 minutes early, like normal, to find a seat, get settled in, etc... I was one of 2 people in the room. The other person? My roommate. An American. The class was supposed to start at 8:30. At 8:29:30 there was a flood of students into the room. Of course then it took 5 minutes for everyone to get settled and class commenced about 8:37.
The other day while in class, I noticed that about 20 minutes into class a person came late and knocked on the door. Only did she enter after the teacher acknowledged her and asked her to enter the room.
I heard last week that an Italian student came for the second half of a class (the part after the 30 minute morning break) and that the teacher was not going to let him stay in the class because he was late.(She eventually let him stay, but didn't give him attendance credit for being in the class)
In my roommates' French class, the teacher explained it this way. It is NEVER ok to be late. Ever. Ever. Ever. BUT, French students will never be ontime. So, while French students enter classes late (whether 2 minutes or 30 minutes) they are allowed to enter and participate in class. But, as International students, it is just plain unacceptable. In some cases (as with the Italian student) the teacher will not let the student in the class without an excuse or some explanation. Why you ask? (at least that's what I asked) "Its our culture". I wonder if the student in the article was French?