Sausages outside a refrigerator are pretty normal in most of Europe I think. In butcher shops most sausage types are stored in boxes or on hooks at room temperature. I hang my dry sausages on a hook at home. Once you start cutting them up and then not eat them all at once, most are best stored cooled though.

Cheese should be stored in a cool + dark + ventilated spot imo, like a cellar or a non heated room in pre global warming France ;). But if you don't have such a spot, then most cheese should really be put in a refrigerator imo. It would really surprise me if this was a taboo in France.