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?

Like I have said, It’s mostly swings and roundabouts. I just find it odd personally that lots of folk complain that it’s expensive to live in the U.K. and think everywhere else is the promised land.It’s just not like that. ( I don’t pay school fees and that’s a choice you make personally but don’t think they can be included.)

@Trixiefirecracker perhaps school fees cant be included but other forms of education, mortgages, bills, pensions can be, benefits inc in-work benefits can surely be included.

Fair point @notimagain and I will say that French wine is still great value!!

@Trixiefirecracker

( I don’t pay school fees and that’s a choice you make personally but don’t think they can be included.)

Maybe, maybe not, one for those in the UK.

FWIW we didn’t we pay school fees either and post the school/college/Lycee phase our offspring went through tertiary education here with very little to zero in the way of fees and they are not lumbered with a loan of any sort…

I think it’s another example of how hard it is to make a realistic comparison but it’s completely flawed (as some do, but I know you are not) to keep bringing up shop prices into the argument and not factoring in or perhaps not be willling to accept/acknowledge that when it comes to CoL French residents often gain some significant advantages in other areas vs. those resident in the UK…

Probably the best of both worlds would be something like a combination of UK high street prices but French housing/education costs.

If you just ask for paracétamol or ibuprofène it will be way cheaper. You can't buy codeine off prescription though.

@notimagain you forget UK includes Scotland where no universities charge fees.

Good point....don't worry though, if I can be bothered I'm sure I can find something else for the French CoL advantages basket...there's plenty to go at..😊

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!

weirdly phamacies in UK are struggling and many are shutting 650 have shut since 2020 and additionally all supermarket lloyds branches - chemists are in crisis and this will have a dire affect on medication perscriptions being issued.

You haven’t done very well so far! 😂😉

Well the Devil's in the detail with a lot of stuff here and life is too short to plough into all the benefits that are available if you are resident, for example systems like Frais reels which got a brief mention a while back.

That is something that can be very beneficial to employees and doesn't have any real equivalent at all in the UK ( I have the joys of having to fill in both a French and a UK tax return every year.....ah...that reminds me 🤔).

It certainly helps those employed in offsetting things like all those supermarket prices many people have been intent on highlighting.

BTW, genuine question re a previous comment- does lack of fees at Scottish universities extend to cover postgrad?

I'd be interested in your insight into French working practices, @InvincibleInvisibility. I know a number of French people who've lived over here for years because they like what the UK offers. They like the quirkiness and what they perceive as the creativity. (Yes, I know: bloody foreigners who prefer the UK to their utopian places of birth, who'd believe it?) Several of them have talked about the formality of French workplaces — about the bureaucracy and hierarchy and rules, and how competitive and cutthroat French working life is. Can this be true? I have an older French pal who arrived from Paris and found UK working life to be more collegiate and merit-based than had been her experience — and she worked for the BBC for much of her career.

It's not just bottles of wine but even a birthday cake cost around 20€ which is very overpricced

The worst is that it wasn't nothing special and it didn't taste good!

In other countries bday cakes are way cheaper.

In the UK I remember buying a bday chocoalte sponge cake from Asda for way cheaper!

Even in Poland & Germany ( where they have the famous bavarian cake} cake prices & food in general was cheaper than in France

I live in France ( have lived here for the last 20 years} and you're mistaken if you think electricity bills & petrol prices hasn not increased!

Electricty bills have increased drastically. We are obliged to pay over 100€ per month on elec bills!

As for the petrol, it used to be way cheaper back in 2010 or 2000 ( like indicated on the map, you scroll down to mid year 2010 you'll see it was cheaper}

10 years ago the petrol was 1.3€/l whereas now it's 1.9€/l!

Here's a link to the website that shows you up to date petrol prices

So really it's equally as expensive as in the Netherlands which is at 2€/l

I know but they don't count. No disrepect to this countries ( well "islands"[ but they are not major mainland countries. They are not among the 44 countries in the EU/Europe just like Liechenstein and Andorra since they are not "official" countries are barely visible on a map

So France is the 6th most expensive country in Europe not the 9th

Well I'm not surprised so Spain is at number 26 on the list and France at number 6

Spain is 20% cheaper than France that why France is in red on the map and the cost of living number is 69 whereeas Spain it's 49 hence why it's in yellow

I used to live in near the France and Spain border and I used to buy all my groceries, cheap booze & fill my tank up of gasoil in my car accross the bordder because everything is cheaper in Spain than in France

Heck since France is the 6th most expensive city in Europe , that means 40 European countries are cheaper than France!

Well now in France the price of petrol is 1.9€/litre, not exactly cheap!

More expensive than 10-20 years where the price of petrol was 1.3 or 1.4/l

So I think France & Holland are both equally expensive

Not all consultations and appointements are refundable in France

I have the "carte vitale and the " mutuelle" aswell as the "CMU" yet a consultation with a dermatologist costs 80€! Which is scandalous

In the UK, you don't have to pay, the doctor refers you to a dermatologist and you don't have to pay anything if you're on benefits or on a pension for example

Even the rest of Europe, a consultation witth a specialist will never cost 80€ be it Spain, Portugal, Romania, Poland or Bulgaria

Not necessarily, it’s the way the French shop that gives you this impression. If you mainly shopped in markets, independent bakers, and farm shops here the food quality is great, I’m sure the same is true of Germany, Spain, Italy etc.

You're right.

The price of petrol at the moment is 1.9€/l here in France. Here's an update prices of petrol on this website: Ma recherche – page 1 | Prix des carburants en France, site gouvernemental (prix-carburants.gouv.fr)

Compared to before when it was around 1.4€/l, the price has gone up and France is becoming more & more expensive which explains why they're are the 6th most expensive country in Europe now in 2023

Paying 180€ for a trip on the train is very expensive

I rented an airbnb for 1 night only in Cavaillon ( which is among the cheapest & poorest town/city in Fance[ yet it cost me 75€ for the night!

The UK is slightly cheaper & the wages are similar or maybe even more in London than in France

Most people are comparing France to the UK but there are 44 countries in Europe so France is more expensive than the 36 out of 44 other European countries

Back in 2010, France was number 11!

Europe: Cost of Living Index by Country 2013 (numbeo.com)

I apologize but no disrespect but Guernsey and Jersey are not truly "real " countries
There not mainland major countries. I mean do they evan have a president?

To me they're just islands since it's part of the British isles

It's similar to Italian islands: Sicilia, Sardinia or Greek islands: Crete, Malia, Corfu

Those islands are not on the list since theye're islands but Italy & Greece are on the list as they are "proper" countries :D

I think the biggest difference is the expectation that women will go back to work after 3 months maternity leave. Childcare is good, cheap, massively subsidized and available. 2 working parents is completely standard and our cultural norm in France.

Children start school at 3, which is basically kindergarten with naps in the afternoon. Lunch is a starter, main and fruit/yogurt/cheese.

Our kids have been to private schools which cost around a €1000 a term through college. A little more for Lycee.

I personally think cheap food is an awful thing for animal welfare. How is it possible to get a chicken to slaughter age, fed, killed, plucked, gutted and cooked for £5? And make a profit?

And the Banque de France employees used to get 17 months of salary! Don't know if it's still true.

@Singledad711

this is simply not the case vs the Uk.

For example i moved back to Uk from Switzerland this year and actually see how expensive the UK is.

it’s used to be cheap versus Switzerland but it’s on parity now.

also for France it’s cheaper. The end.

Sad how desperate the brexiteers are getting to try and prove it was anything but a complete disaster for the UK.

French fuel prices at the pumps are probably more volatile than the UK, there's been a lot of fluctuation this year, down in part to road fuel prices being capped by the Government for a while..

Usual tips for visitors - top up and supermarkets and look out for possible cheap fuel on Sundays deals.