AIBU to ask why French high streets seem to thrive?

@Persephonia1966 I can't think of anything more boring than having to pop to the shops everyday 😂
As I have said though in this thread - more people would shop (or go to cafés) on their local high street if the shops were actually open past 5.30pm.
That's the major reason why people don't - in my personal opinion.

cambridge traffic is a fucking nightmare to be fair.

yes, many people do cycle around but most people do the food shop by car at one of the big supermarkets that are out of town.

there’s loads - big Sainsbury’s at coldhams common roundabout, Tesco on Newmarket Road, Asda at the beehive centre, etc. many people who live in Cambridge very rarely go into the historic centre - that’s left to students and tourists. Much of the employment is in the science park to the north or addenvrookes/babraham biotech park to the south both of which now have their own train stations.

The difference is customers and quality, and not just in France.

Other European countries also have thriving high streets and markets, The Netherlands, Spain, Hungary and Germany.

Customer (us) spend money in shops, they pay for quality. Thriving shops, making a profit means more thriving shops.

Instead (us) in the UK are buoyed by the cheapness of SHEIN, TEMU and the multiple online ‘fake’ websites selling copied clothing, of poor quality.
We in the UK don’t even seem to notice the tat, poor fabrics and make, dangers of chemicals or the horrid way workers are treated.

We don’t seem to be able to use any critical thinking to work out that something is wrong if an item made from a metre of fabric and flown across the world, costs less than the metre of fabric.

We don’t seem to have worked out that if we don’t shop on the high streets, there won’t be a high street, just lots of empty shops to be filled with nail bars, vape shops and barbers.

We have ourselves to blame, business owners do not run shops as a form of voluntary service to the community.

But you must know that Cambridge has huge traffic problems? It's healthy because it's wealthy, but would I ever live there now? No, because for several hours a day it's gridlocked.

I was referring to the stereotype expressed of French people cycling and British people driving everywhere (I actually doubt there's any difference on an average, daily level).

I feel Cambridge demonstrates that it's only that a lot of Britain doesn't have a critical mass of cyclists: if the culture and infrastructure were there, they'd appear.

I see, yes apologies, but slow in the uptake then.

@Persephonia1966 I have to admit I do use my local (overpriced) corner shop frequently for extra bits and bobs - it's pretty much across the road so not much effort.
I have a secret fondness for shops like Londis or Budgens and will often pop in if walking past one. I love they always have 563 different flavours/brands of fizzy drinks.
There's quite a lot of "European" shops round my way where you pop in to buy milk and come out with obscure flavours of jam, a giant bag of Lays crisps and Haribo from Turkey 😂
Thinking about it.... I probably do shop at little convenience stores more often than I should.

I love Budgens! Even though it is a front for Tesco.

Me too!

In my little town in Normandy (the town and 4 surrounding communes total about 3500 inhabitants) we have: butcher, traiteur, boulangerie, greengrocer, cave, artisanal biscuiterie-chocolaterie, 2 pharmacies, 4 hairdressers, 2 beauty salons, 2 opticians, a hearing aids centre, post office, the ubiquitous PMU, several cafes/bars, restaurants, couple of takeaways, 2 newsagents/cafes, a jewellers, an Aladdin's cave that sells everything from toys to homewares to pet supplies, a bloody fabulous wool/haberdashery shop, 2 florists, 3 boutiques, a shoe shop, a secondhand books/vinyl shop, a bicycle sales/repairs shop, 3 banks, 1 insurance office, 2 estate agents.

That's just in the town centre, on the outskirts we also have a small SuperU and a Lidl (both of which sell coriander and ginger), Point P, Maison, etc.

And a library, swimming pool, outdoor tennis courts, skate park, and a sports centre. Weekly market (although smaller than it was pre-pandemic), artisanal bread stall on a Thursday and fishmonger on a Friday in the market square.

We also have free town centre parking and lots of Mairie-organised events to bring people into the town. I think that's one of the biggest differences between France and the UK - the Mairies here actually give a shit about the villages and towns and we can see where our taxes are being spent.

Balls. You missed out income tax on business owners and URSSAF payments. CFE is a miniscule percentage of what a business gets taxed

Yes I was going to say; devolved power helps and having more decision-making happening at a very, very local level and also more state intervention and legislation governing town planning and which chain stores are permitted where.

Again, not true where I am at all..

@CarrieOakie if it's just for 2 that's very different to a family of 2 adults, couple of kids, few pets...

That’s why when I host students for 3 months I use Ocado home delivery. It’s not cheating in my book to get someone else to do the heavy lifting, packing, & drive it to my home

Balls. You missed out income tax on business owners and URSSAF payments. CFE is a miniscule percentage of what a business gets taxed

Employees pay these. Just like employees pay income tax and national insurance in the UK. The point is that when setting up a new business with a shop on the high street, the costs are much greater in Britain, because you are liable for business rates even if your business makes no profit. It’s an expensive risk compared with in France.

The French like to take their time food shopping, its an art not like in UK where we shove everything in a trolley not caring where it came from.

Oh nonsense!

My neighbour had to stop driving due to illness. Well he was devastated naturally, and I got as much as I could for him when doing my own shopping. However, he enjoyed mooching around the shops himself, so eventually got himself a three wheel cycle. Well OMG it is amazing! He needed that for stability and balance. There's a massive basket on the back for "stuff". He is greeted and feted all around the area now on his big green trike.

I want one too but not yet. They are not cheap either, but cheaper than a car I suppose! I also think those bikes with the little covered carriage on the back for kids are fab. You'd get a lot of shopping in there, feck the kids!

I think there are electric versions out now, not sure, but that would be excellent. I'm future proofing for my older age, which is not that far away now!

Well my parents live in SW France. The town centre has been absolutely devastated by the out of town supermarkets and retail parks. Yes there's a little bakery and a grocery shop and a couple of tourist bits but nothing like the town it was when they first moved there 30 years ago. My parents buy loads on Amazon because it's convenient. Yes they go to the weekly market too for veg, but it's far from being an idyllic thriving town. The local mayor has tried very hard to regenerate the town including bringing in loads of migrants as part of a wider scheme but none of it has really helped much unfortunately. No one has any money for independent shops so they all go to Lidl and Aldi in the out of town retail parks.

The Dutch have much better public transport and (it's a stereotype but a true stereotype) a cycle everywhere culture. Most cities, towns, villages are constructed with pedestrians/cyclists in mind first and cars afterwards. If you are cycling or walking short distances you are going to your local shop or high street. If you are getting the bus/tram you are going to the in-town shopping centre. Whereas if the only way to get about easily is by car you might as well drive all the way to the giant Supermarket or out of town. Or just order it online. So local shops closed down so people use cars even more. It's a vicious cycle that affects the UK more because it's less walkable. Plus the Dutch spend a lot on different initiatives to help the high street/area feels alive through the year IME

The Dutch local shops situation is better than the UKs. And the UKs is better than Americas. It's not a coincidence that also mirrors the facilities for non-car drivers in each country. The Netherlands isn't a utopia and I think internet shopping has affected shops there to. But not to the same extent.

Employers pay a share of social contributions to the URSSAF or MSA.