Shopping in France -

This is an updated version of the analysis begun in March 2012. 

Last Updated JUNE 2015

 To go to the index click here

From time to time since March 2012 I publish an analysis of Supermarket costs in Tescos (Milton Keynes) compared to Intermarché (Gourdon,  Lot, France)
March  2012 View it here....
July 2012 View  here...
December 2012 View here.

March 2013 View here
July 2013 View here
April 2014 View here
June 2015 View here




The lists are not 'weekly shopping' lists and they need sensible interpretation. There are some curious items - q.v. coffee. The studious person will find other oddities - that is why it must be read with caution.  But it remains a guide.

But in the fact that the lists are identical they give some indication of how prices are going.

                                                                 

                

  If  you click on the table you can see it more clearly - press 'esc' to return.                      

Note - between 2013 and 2014 there has been a huge drop in costs in the UK. In France prices were generally stable. Since 2014-2015 The value of the £ has increased but also has inflation in France.

Note that inflation rates in orange are calculated on the local currency. Otherwise the exchange rate influences the calculation.   Nevertheless for British people living in France relying on income from the UK the exchange rate is a hugely important factor. The last column gives this figure.

N.B. The figures for March 2013 show a remarkable hike in prices in France.  To say it again - overall prices for the last three months to March 2013  caused the British RETIRED resident, whose income is derived entirely from the UK, an inflation of 17%.
Between 2013 and 2014 the prices in the UK fell remarkably but remained stable in France.
It  remains clear that the Euro is still in 2015 overvalued against the £.

Euro and the £

Chart copied (with permission) from advfn.com

The Euro was worth about 67 pence in 2006 and May 2011 is now worth about 88 pence. This is a fall in the value of the £ of about 31%.
The British media so often informs us of the poor condition of the Euro and how Ireland, Portugal and other Euro-countries have such a bad time. Yet it seems the Euro is strong or the £ is astonishingly weak.
The British media so often tells us that inflation in the UK is soaring, yet in France we read the following [from le Canard Enchainé, a satirical publication]

Official statistics state that the purchasing power of the French has increased by 1.9%.  Is it possible? 

Yet in the last year..

Electricity has  increased by 6.4%

Rents have increased by 12%

Train tickets by 2.4%

Petrol by 18%

Gas by 5%

Flour by 20%

Bread by 5-7% and pasta by 5-10%

Coffee by 10-20%

Chocolate by 5-7%

Edible oils by 8%

Camembert by 2-4%

Biscuits by 3-10%

How is it that one can buy goods from the UK more cheaply (including carriage) than similar items in France?  In my experience in this last year we have so purchased from the UK- garden seep hose, electric fencing, walking trousers, spices, food mixer, bread machine, microwave, women's clothes [M&S].

The French Government, nevertheless,  aware of inflation, has asked supermarkets to propose a basic basket of nutritional food for less than 20 euros.  
The Secretary of State for Trade and Consumer matters, M. Lefebvre, signed the agreement on April 6, 2011.
Appropriate items will be indicated with a yellow basket label.

Here is the offering of Carrefour for 18 euros for four people (for two meals) or one person for a week....
- des pommes de terre (potatoes), des carottes, des courgettes et des oranges ;
- une brique (tetra-block) de jus d'orange 100 % pur jus ;
- 2 pièces de viande (meat) d'origine France : demi-longe de porc 'sans OGM' [not genetically modified], et de la basse côte de bœuf à griller ; (cheaper cuts indicated)
- 1 kg de poisson (fish) goûteux (tasty) et peu onéreux (le Pangasius) ; [Panga is a fish farmed in Vietnam and some environmental lobbyists claim it is polluted.]
- 1 baguette de pain (bread) (0,43 €) ;
- du fromage à blanc à 0 % gras (soft cheese with 0% fat).

Undoubtedly the expatriate pensioner has seen his purchasing power fall by something more than 30% [even 40%] in the last 4 to five years.

This tangle of economics is impossible to unravel and quite inexplicable. 
But the tale of economic hardship from the UK is getting wearisome.