Cheap supermarkets in France?

julesbetty

Hi,

We are off to France in our motorhome this August and was wondering if anyone knows which supermarket chains are the cheapest.

We went last year and think we ended up in the equivalent of Waitrose on more than one occaision!!!

Any help greatly appreciated

Julesbetty

MrTomato

They have Lidl in France. Carrefour is the equivalent of Tesco. There's Aldi (Aldi nord, we have Aldi sud in the UK, but I dunno the difference).

Bob_the_Saver

Lidl & Aldi, Ed and Leader Price which is often cheapest if not best for meat. Beware the big chains, prices can vary wildly between big stores of the same chain even a few Km away.

peachyprice

I've always found Champion to be pretty reasonable, but E.Leclerc are quite pricey, but do have a fantasric range.

knightstyle

Same rules as UK, look carefully before you buy. Not much difference between them and some sell things for different prices in an identical supermarket a few miles away. Bananas in our local SuperU are 1.78€ a kilo, 12km away in another SuperU they are 1.10€ and in the market yesterday 2.40€! French law forbids selling things at below cost so no loss leaders. Eat what the French eat and if you want to eat out eat from a fixed price menu at midday. Bring dry goods with you, tea bags, squash, corned beef and other camping essentials.
Check you have car documents and a reflective waistcoat within reach of the driver at all times.

maman

We noticed how expensive it was shopping in French supermarkets last summer compared with many previous visits. As English tourists we have the double whammy. French prices are up as ours are (or maybe even moreso) plus there's the poor exchange rate (although that's picked up a tiny bit). Have to agree, shop around if you can and take anything with you that's practical.

Bob_the_Saver

SOME DIY stuff is cheap, try Brico Depot or Bricoman, irespective of price the choice is fantastic, makes my local Wickes look a bit sick. I bought a waste pipe fitting a couple of weeks ago for about 24p in Bricoman in France, Wickes wanted £1.25 for the nearest British size. (Guess what i told them they could do with it.)

mchale

http://www.day-tripper.net/

littlereddevil

We always use Auchan. I have to say though it is a bit more expensive since the euro. Great prices when it was the franc

jcorbygas

We have a second home in France and so I am pretty used to shopping there. I find that Le Mutant is the cheapest and the products are good although you havent the choice of the bigger supermarkets. Its wines are very good. I also use LeClerc but find Champion not so good.
Meat is very expensive so I normally take a joint of lamb with me, and bacon, but their chicken is a lot tastier and so I buy that out there. LeClerc does a good choice of fish also.
The fruit and vegetables are also more expensive but they do taste a lot better than in our supermarkets.
We just stick to bread and cheese for lunch and a cooked evening meal.

Ezmondino

Was just about to say Le Mutant (it's like Aldi, Lidl etc) is good value. Shame there is not more of them.