French dressing

Twice we went out for dinner - well we went out more than twice, but on those 2 particular occasions I was faced with some kind of sauce that is called a "French dressing".... a red colored somewhat thick sauce... Granted I have not been back to France for 14 years so I would assume a lot of things have changed over there... but I still do cook - occasionally, my parents came twice and mother cooks all the time, I have a few French cookbooks and I have never seen a red sauce like this one called a French dressing! Actually, the only red sauce I know of and looks similar is the cocktail sauce made out of mayonnaise and ketchup - they used to make it at the restaurant I was working in London to serve on shrimps.... I am French and I have to know so I did a Google search.  At first I found all those sites that were mentionning all the types of French sauces... but no red sauce like the one over here.  Until i finally found the answer: IT IS TOTALLY MADE UP BY THE AMERICANS!!!! LOL Here is a little bit of info about the vinaigrette (French Dressing). So now I know. I will not say another word about the French dressing, I'll just go for the Italian dressing which is probably another American variation but it tastes better than the French one! :)