Page 4 | Why is the cost of living in France so high?

HilaryThorpe · 07/08/2023 13:30

Trixiefirecracker · 07/08/2023 12:50

As far as I was aware France is furious about it’s spiralling cost of living crisis too, which includes rising energy prices. That’s why there has been huge protests isn’t it, I think it’s pretty much similar all over Europe.

There was a slight increase this month, but in February the UK electricity price was 48.5 cents (€) a kwh and France 28.7. France is lower than the EU average.
The big demonstrations this year were against pension reform and the shooting of a boy by police.

Triptastico · 07/08/2023 14:07

BitOutOfPractice · 07/08/2023 10:37

Was the OP written by AI? It certainly reads as if it were. OP’s first post too. Designed to get us to click the link no doubt.

I particularly enjoyed the offhand dismissal of other nations as being too small or islandy to count 😁

This.

Whenever the Op is 5/6/7 paragraphs long, and many seem to be on here these days, I suspect AI and give up reading.

There are so many of these 1 post click bait openers: MN is getting boring now.

Trixiefirecracker · 07/08/2023 14:18

HilaryThorpe · 07/08/2023 13:30

There was a slight increase this month, but in February the UK electricity price was 48.5 cents (€) a kwh and France 28.7. France is lower than the EU average.
The big demonstrations this year were against pension reform and the shooting of a boy by police.

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Last year, it was all over the news.

EmmaPaella · 07/08/2023 15:23

Triptastico · 07/08/2023 14:07

This.

Whenever the Op is 5/6/7 paragraphs long, and many seem to be on here these days, I suspect AI and give up reading.

There are so many of these 1 post click bait openers: MN is getting boring now.

Show quote history

Same here. It’s so obvious.

DelphiniumBlue · 07/08/2023 16:56

Yes, I'm currently in France and am really shocked at how expensive food is ( from supermarkets) compared to England.

InvincibleInvisibility · 07/08/2023 17:00

The 13th month is NOT a bonus. Its your yearly salary divided into 13. Each month you get one 13th and in June and December you get half a 13th (traditionally for holidays/Christmas).

You can opt out of this. I did. My salary is the same but I get paid one 12th every month instead. I don't need my company to "save" for me for holidays. I can do that myself.

notimagain · 07/08/2023 17:10

InvincibleInvisibility · 07/08/2023 17:00

The 13th month is NOT a bonus. Its your yearly salary divided into 13. Each month you get one 13th and in June and December you get half a 13th (traditionally for holidays/Christmas).

You can opt out of this. I did. My salary is the same but I get paid one 12th every month instead. I don't need my company to "save" for me for holidays. I can do that myself.

Sorry I maybe gave the wrong impression with the Bonus word, mea culpa for giving the wrong impression.

Point I was trying to make was don’t assume you can take a French monthly salary, multiply it by 12 and assume that’s the annual figure,

notimagain · 07/08/2023 17:31

DelphiniumBlue · 07/08/2023 16:56

Yes, I'm currently in France and am really shocked at how expensive food is ( from supermarkets) compared to England.

Trust me, where we come over to the Uk to visit relatives and look in estate agents windows we are similarly shocked…

swings and roundabouts again…

MarmotMorning · 07/08/2023 17:34

France seems more expensive in recent years because of the exchange rate. Before Brexit about the pound to euro rate was around €1.3 and now it's about €1.1.
That's going to make a difference on a supermarket shop.

DelphiniumBlue · 07/08/2023 17:38

Trust me, where we come over to the Uk to visit relatives and look in estate agents windows we are similarly shocked…
Funnily enough DS was saying how he would like to live in France for a bit,I might have a look in a few EA windows, hopefully I’ll be be pleasantly surprised!
But I suppose I’m comparing prices with the France of my youth, when it( and most European countries) were way cheaper than the UK for everything.

swings and roundabouts again…

unsync · 07/08/2023 18:18

That is not my experience. On the Côte d'Azur, my shopping is cheaper here than in the UK and it certainly hasn't risen at the rate that my shopping in the UK has over the past three years. The produce is better too.

Trixiefirecracker · 07/08/2023 18:31

unsync · 07/08/2023 18:18

That is not my experience. On the Côte d'Azur, my shopping is cheaper here than in the UK and it certainly hasn't risen at the rate that my shopping in the UK has over the past three years. The produce is better too.

Definitely my experience on a recent trip, was really shocked at French prices.

unsync · 07/08/2023 18:42

I guess if you are a local you know where to go.

passiveaggressivenonsense · 07/08/2023 20:15

I'm on holiday in the south of France and cafe allongée and a capuchino in a seaside cafe cost me €4.10 this morning. I think two coffees would cost more than that in the Uk.

MikeRafone · 07/08/2023 20:56

Everywhere was spotless. Bins emptied regularly (altho no domestic collections,

I hadn't realised that domestic refuge collection wasn't a thing in France, until last year when friends living in Brittany told me

that would cause a storm in the British tea cup if council stopped that - it was bad enough transferring to the 123 bin collection and Facebook pages were littered with complaints

Blackberriesbob · 08/08/2023 02:14

Singledad711 · 07/08/2023 01:58

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?

Really confused about your reference to Ireland and Iceland as 'not mainland countries'. They're sovereign nations with their own economies, so each is its own mainland. Britain is also an island. What do you mean?

Trixiefirecracker · 08/08/2023 05:23

passiveaggressivenonsense · 07/08/2023 20:15

I'm on holiday in the south of France and cafe allongée and a capuchino in a seaside cafe cost me €4.10 this morning. I think two coffees would cost more than that in the Uk.

These comments are pretty meaningless because it’s one isolated case. I could find a coffee here for a few quid quite easily.

Trixiefirecracker · 08/08/2023 05:24

A couple of coffees. Just depends where you are.

HilaryThorpe · 08/08/2023 05:42

MikeRafone · 07/08/2023 20:56

Everywhere was spotless. Bins emptied regularly (altho no domestic collections,

I hadn't realised that domestic refuge collection wasn't a thing in France, until last year when friends living in Brittany told me

that would cause a storm in the British tea cup if council stopped that - it was bad enough transferring to the 123 bin collection and Facebook pages were littered with complaints

It depends where you live. Our bin is emptied from outside the house once a week; we are the end of the round so they come around 10pm on a Friday and are in a cheery mood. 😂 In our last house we took the rubbish sacks about 30m to a large bin for our group of houses.
We have easily accessible recycling points in every commune round here in Normandie.

Bellavida99 · 08/08/2023 06:12

We were a bit shocked by food prices in France last month even as regular visitors. €5 for a tiny punnet of strawberries, local cider used to be €1 for 70cl now it’s €5. Wine much more expensive. Petrol more than the uk. Meat is expensive but always has been and I always think it’s higher welfare. Meals out we’re really pricey. I’m not sure why. Spain still feels very cheap for food and eating out. Aircon in villa only €80 a month mid summer!

MelonsOnSaleAgain · 08/08/2023 06:15

We’re just nearing the end of a French holiday and self catered. We shop in local supermarkets and stay in less touristy places. The shopping for food and and fuel was so much more expensive than at home, some of it is part of that “holiday say yes” attitude but not all of it. Prices are just high!

notimagain · 08/08/2023 08:36

MelonsOnSaleAgain · 08/08/2023 06:15

We’re just nearing the end of a French holiday and self catered. We shop in local supermarkets and stay in less touristy places. The shopping for food and and fuel was so much more expensive than at home, some of it is part of that “holiday say yes” attitude but not all of it. Prices are just high!

"Prices are just high.."

Food, often is but for many other things that tourists don't purchase prices often aren't high.

In the context of a thread about French CoL supermarket prices are I guess interesting but a just one factor of many..

Twilightstarbright · 08/08/2023 09:42

Sorry but living in Guernsey it’s actually pretty offensive to say we are basically part of the UK when we aren’t, especially for cost of living. Food has always been incredibly expensive on the island because of shipping, plus there’s no cheap options like Lidl and Aldi- it’s Waitrose, M&S, Co-op.

I feel you on the cost of living but dismissing valid countries as not counting is rude.

Trixiefirecracker · 08/08/2023 10:49

notimagain · 08/08/2023 08:36

"Prices are just high.."

Food, often is but for many other things that tourists don't purchase prices often aren't high.

In the context of a thread about French CoL supermarket prices are I guess interesting but a just one factor of many..

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Fuel is also high and toiletries, I went to a pharmacy (as wierdly you can’t buy paracetamol in the normal shops) and they gave me some stuff for headaches that cost 15euros. A pack of paracetamol to Aldi is about 45p!

notimagain · 08/08/2023 11:04

Yep I get all that, I live in France but that means I also get to run comparisons the other way round when visiting the UK.

This thread was about French CoL (or at least was, not just prices in supermarkets)..shopping is but one data point.

It's perhaps worth turning this on it's head:

Say I visit the Uk, go into a supermarket and came out saying "blimey your prices are cheap here, UK CoL is really low"

I'd pretty sure I'd be corrected fairly sharply by Uk residents pointing out the level of mortgages, rents, school fees, etc - all things that are pretty much invisible to a shot term visitor or tourist but all items that feed into CoL.