French beans or green beans are from the family of leguminosae. Already 7,000 years ago, they were grown in Mexico and Peru. The Spaniards and Portuguese brought them to Europe in the 16th century. You cannot eat these (and other) beans raw, you have to cook or stir fry them. When I was a child, my mother used to cook them for half an hour until they were totally soft, but nowadays we like them "al dente" and 8 minutes cooking time is sufficient.