Why is the cost of living in France so high?

[Singledad711]

Hi! I've been living in France for several years now and whilst the cost of living has always been quite high, now the cost of living has gone up here in France compared to 10 years ago ( or even 5 years ago]

According to this map, France is the 9th most expensive country in Europe ( well not the 9th but actually the 6th] since Jersey and Guernsey are part of the UK so they don't count as they're not really countries

And to me Luxembourg is a tnig insignificant country that isn't even visible on a map ( like Liechenstein and Andorra for example]

So anyway France has overtaken the Netherlands, Belgium, Finland and Sweden!

It's quite surprising that France has become more expensive than the latter 2 who are Scandinavian countries which have always been expensive i.e Finland & Sweden

Considering that the average wages in France is around 1500€-1800€ then it doesn't justify the high cost of living in France, which has become the 6th most expensive country in Europe

There's only 5 countries more expensive than France in Europe now in 2023: Denmark, Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Ireland

And 2 of those are islands i.e Ireland & Iceland and not major mainland countries like Russia or Germany for example

How come the cost of living in France has risen? Why is the cost of living in France so high when the wages are relatively low compared to other European countries where the wages are higher & the cost of living is lower: Germany for example?

I’ve recently returned from Croatia and was surprised how expensive food was there too.

The key difference between living in France and the UK isn't reflected in these indices, though. What makes it feel better to live in France is the relative cheapness of housing and childcare (when compared to the UK) plus having adequate education, health and other public services. 15 to 20 years ago the differences were minimal, but over time the gap has got larger and larger.

I think you would have to factor in a series of extreme weather events that have destroyed some harvests in the last few years. In our bit of France we are seeing a lot of the big organic shops closing as people can't afford it; Lidl has got much busier. There is still a huge emphasis on supporting local growers.
Food has got more expensive, but it is also important to remember that house purchase and rentals are far cheaper as is electricity.

But beer was cheap 🤣

Having just returned from Denmark, I cannot believe the prices.

A sharing bag of crisps (not fancy ones) and a can of coke at a supermarket was £6!

We're just back from the Netherlands and although the beer and Tony Chocoloney was cheaper, meat and fish were hugely expensive. I was going to cook salmon one night but it was €12 fir 2 fillets.

Just holidayed in sw France. All self catered. Intermarche prices were def higher than at home (and I use Sainsburys). I was buying v similar products and no household/ toiletries and I'd say my weekly shop was about 50% higher after allowing for extra icecreams!.
But I needed a doctor whilst there and I got a same day appointment and prescription for 60 euros. Everywhere was spotless. Bins emptied regularly (altho no domestic collections, had to use communal bins/ recycling on the street). Etc etc

To those commenting about prices - in many places salaries are twice those in the UK. I know that my salary in Denmark and France would be double what it is in the UK.

Honestly didn’t notice that much difference, we ended up shopping in Lidl because we thought it would be cheaper, was more expensive than our local Lidl. The bread was nice but we bought that from bakeries.

…a pack of chicken was 11 euros!

As well as wages being higher in France, they've just increased the retirement age from 62 to 64, and don't they have a 35 hour working week? So that sort of thing makes employing people more expensive than the UK, which feeds into higher prices.

Your salary might be double in France but on average salaries are similar or lower in France, the cost of living crisis is real elsewhere that's why there are riots and protests

The UK has always been the second cheapest place in the world for food, the US has historically been the only place cheaper. They calculate based on percentage spend of income. The UK has been around 9%/10% in recent years and the US lower from memory.

I am from the Netherlands and just got home from a holiday in France (Brittany). I still think France is pretty cheap, at home the supermarket is definitely more expensive. I drank coffees there for less then 3 € … wel that doesn’t exist anymore in my country.. i am happy if I pay under 4€

You must have a skill that is lacking in France. We have a house not for from Nice, and have often looked at wages for us - architect and surgeon - and both medical and architectural roles are higher paid in the UK.

I am a prof at a university and London living costs/wages are terrible in UK HE.

As are Paris prices.

@Trixiefirecracker I know but other things that we need are fre or cheaper. Plus personally I think France is a much better place for kids to grow up in or at least it was for me.

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Just back from holidaying in France, Holland and Belgium. Prices have definitely gone up a lot since we last did this.
Based on accommodation charges France was the cheapest of the 3. Based on eating out France was also the cheapest and certainly seemed much cheaper for supermarket shopping too. Did notice fresh fruit and vegetables were a lot more expensive in all 3 than than in the Uk.

^^

This..

Supermarket food has always tended to be more expensive than UK, OTOH the costs in other areas that maybe certainly short term visitors won’t be exposed to will be lower than UK…

For those paying tax here the tax structure and/or company subsidies on things like some meals at work and commuting to/from work can also help the household bottom,

It’s swings and roundabouts…

And petrol is cheap in France! Back in the Netherlands now and we pay over 50 cents extra a liter.

Good food has always been expensive in France. I can remember years ago, in the 90s, buying fruit and cheese in a pretty ordinary French market in an out-of-the-way town and having a 'how much?!' moment, because it was three times the price I was expecting. I have friends who live in the Alpes-Maritime who come over to the UK for holidays and always say how much cheaper things are here — but not as cheap as the Republic of Ireland this year, where apparently fresh food is cheaper.

France offers pretty generous pensions from the age of 62 and I get the impression that there are reasonable benefits available. So with more money sloshing about, prices go up.

Me too! And even more so when someone mentioned NZ being expensive. The MN narrative is that NZ and all EU countries are a paradise of cheap food and wonderful free healthcare!

It’s swings and roundabouts…

Exactly! Some on here try and paint it that the UK is crap for everything and everywhere else is a utopia even if it isn't anchored in reality. The actual reality is that as you say there's much more to it than the elements you see as a visitor and the balance of other costs.