What is the correct way to eat croissants?

Where we lived in France, fresh with an espresso coffee, sometimes with a Cognac or Armagnac chaser.

Warm, rip bits off and slather with butter and raspberry jam

No dipping!! Ruins the crispy bits.
Apricot jam, or good quality choc spread.
With coffee.
It reminds me of hols as a child if I have cafe au lait and apricot.

I think, as for so many things, you can please yourself. But for practical purposes :

The French normally only eat 1, as a treat and not every day - especially if they're weight conscious.
A proper flaky croissant from a good bakery will contain 45% weight of butter, so the French don't add butter.
(As with bread, they don't put butter on the table, but it's almost a criminal offence to serve a meal without bread!)
Croissants just need to be very slightly warm to release the buttery smell.
Eating a croissant without making loads of mess with greasy flakes, it's usual to tear off a portion that you can put straight into your mouth, having first put jam on it if that's a choice.
Of course people will still dunk - the same with bread - but you don't see that so often now. The little bowls for coffee or chocolat - which make dunking easier - are more often used at home for a family breakfast.

Agree about the apricot jam. My favourite.

Chunks torn off and dipped in coffee. A habit I picked up while working in Paris. Mr. B thinks it’s disgusting

My dd went to a little posh cafe and they had smoked salmon and lightly scrambled egg on their croissant

greenlady102

open mouth, insert croissant

Then chew!
I don't have extra butter, just apricot jam
(It must be apricot, don't ask me why)

The children used to dip their bread into chocolat too, a habit I never embraced!

I like them warm from the oven and then dunked in my coffee

Ripped into bite sized pieces , no butter, a little honey ?.
Not French and never lived there, it’s just how I like to do it .

Always pull scones apart too , never cut .

Dipped in your coffee or chocolate

open mouth, insert croissant

I dollop butter and jam on the plate, rip pieces off and spread with butter and jam. Use the last bit to wipe the plate clean. But I would think any way that means you get the most out of it is good ?

I don't live in France but I tear mine into bite size bits and butter/jam each bit as I go.

This is the correct way to eat a bread roll that is served with a meal. At least that is the etiquette I was taught. So I do the same with croissants.

Too many crumbs if you try to cut or bite into whole.

Warm, they must be warm from the oven!

With apricot jam. I pull them, don't cut them.
(Not saying that is correct)

When I was looking after French children, they dipped them into their bowl of hot chocolat!

I like them split, lightly toasted and spread with butter and jam.
I'm not bothered about the correct way to eat them. ?

I wonder who decides what is the 'correct' way to eat anything.
Just do what makes you comfortable.