French supermarkets

[ThePinkPonyClub]

Heading to France in the summer and I'm curious if there is any 'ranking' to the supermarkets, like how here Waitrose is better than Asda, Aldi for certain things, that kind of thing!

Would you head to one in particular for say, meat and another for snacks/wine.. etc etc...

Any mumsnetters who live in or frequent france a lot?

I love supermarkets in other countries. They’re a treasure trove.

E Leclerc and Carreforre are slightly fancier than Auchan, Intermarche and Super U or Hyper U in my experience. Intermarche and Super U tend to be smaller too, whereas the other ones are Asda and Tesco size.

I shop in France about 2-3 times a month, my nearest super/hypermarkets are Grand Frais (owned by Leclerc) , E. Leclerc and Intermarché.

I like the layout and choice of fruits, vegetables and spices in Grand Frais, however they don't sell homewares, beauty and cleaning products etc. They usually have a bakery attached - Marie, where you can get pretty good croissant, pain au choc and a choice of baguettes - white, medium and super crispy.

I feel like Leclerc is better quality than Intermarché, but the prices are on a par.

Used to holiday in France quite a lot and Cafferfore was my favourite - fucking loved that place! It reminded me a bit of a Waitrose - had that sort of vibe. But better. Honestly French supermarkets are one of the (many) great things about going to France .....

Carrefour Marché in towns are often fancier than average Carrefours. My favourite is Monoprix food halls. They have the best cheese and traiteur counters

Me too, doesn’t matter where it is, they’re just different!
No help with French supermarkets though I’m afraid as I’ve never been.

Leclerc has the largest market share I think, so in that respect it’s the Tesco of France. Carrefour is number 2. In my experience - there isn’t really a Waitrose equivalent - perhaps because independent bakers, butchers, delis etc are more common and better frequented than in the UK. Larger Monoprix sometimes have food halls though, which is perhaps the closest you’ll get to a Waitrose, with commensurate pricing, if there’s one near where you’re staying.

Carrefour and Monoprix are my favourites, but they're all pretty decent tbh. I could spend hours in the fresh produce aisles.

Thanks for the comments. I am embarrassingly excited about this!

Grand frais for fruit, veggies, chers and butcher! Other than that I’d say Leclerc. Haven’t been to a Monoprix food hall but might try one now!

Aldi is shit in France, the fruit and veg are terrible. Lidl is slightly better but I prefer to stick to the French supermarkets.

Depends where you're going, inSW France where we go there's no Auchan at all. Just Intermarché in our little town then an E Leclerc 30 mins away. Love both.

You do know can't bring back any meat and dairy any more though? Gutted

I found Carrefour really a let down when we were there last year (in Calais). They seem to have cut down on the meat/cheese and fruit/veg aisles.

We found Auchan ok but E Leclerc was nice.

But in general, shop at bakeries, butchers and local markets and go to the supermarkets for staples.

This is my ranking:

1. LeClerc
2. Auchan
3. Carrefour
4. Intermarche
5. Aldi
6. Lidl

Not sure about Monoprix. maybe after Carrefour and before Intermarche?

Depends where you're going, in Paris La Grande Épicerie is definitely fancy.

Then I'd say Monoprix and Grand Frais, I really like my local Grand Frais.
After that Carrefour, Leclerc, Auchan.
Then Super U, Intermarche and Casino more basic, although the bigger ones are not bad.
Aldi and Lidl are discount.

French hypermarkets are somewhat regional, so depending on where you're going you might see three outlets of one chain, and none of a couple of others that you've heard of. Ditto for supermarkets (the difference is mostly the size of the building and whether or not they sell fridges). There certainly isn't any kind of national ranking by perceived status. (Many European people who visit the UK are surprised by the relative importance of brands in general.)

Hypermarkets tend to be surrounded by other shops in an indoor single-storey mall, like bakers, snack bars, florists, shoe shops, key cutters, etc. There may be a cheap chain restaurant or "cafet'", and possibly a McDonald's in the car park.

In general they are less focused on service than UK supermarkets. If you ask someone where the eggs are, they won't have been trained to walk over there with you. You may also find that they don't seem quite as clean, the floor tiles are cracked, etc. There might well be someone at the entrance asking for money.

You may be surprised at how much processed food is on sale. There will be a huge selection of frozen pizzas. About 15 years ago France also discovered wine boxes, which are called (literally, using the English words, "Le Bag In Box") - but the wine in them is generally quite good.

(Excuse any slight lack of enthusiasm, but I lived in France for a couple of decades, and a weekly shop for a family with kids is pretty much the same amount of fun everywhere!)

A slight sidetrack if l may? Don’t forget the local food markets. That is where a lot of the restaurant food comes from.