Manger à tous les râteliers

Literally: To eat from every hay rack

Example: “Ce consultant conseille les deux entreprises rivales ; il mange à tous les râteliers.” — That consultant advises both rival companies; he has a foot in both camps.

English equivalent: To have a foot in both camps

Origin: A râtelier is the wall rack that holds fodder for horses, cattle or sheep, and it takes its name from the râteau, a rake — both from Latin rastellum — because it is likewise a row of parallel bars. An animal standing at its own rack that reaches across into its neighbor's is taking the food out of another mouth, which is the whole accusation. The Académie française's dictionary of 1762 has manger à plus d'un râtelier, and the metaphor is a century older still in the form je leveray le ratelier à ce gourmand. Since a profiteer is unlikely to stop at one extra rack, the phrase grew its tous.