I'm sure alsacienne will oblige soon.

Have been away for the weekend, but will be going shopping as usual this week! Let me know what sort of things you'd like pricing ... what type of meat etc and I'll do my best.

OK! Went to Match - my preferred local supermarket and these are today's current prices:

Sliced white loaf - British sandwich-style 1.70 € - 2.35 € depending on the size of the squared loaf and the number of slices. This keeps reasonably well.

Baguette 60 cents, pain long - longer thicker baguette 75 cents. Remember that the cost of bread is controlled by the government in France. It doesn't keep longer than a day and sometimes even less!

Milk - I litre fresh 1.34 semi-skimmed, 1.30 full. Note that blue is the colour for semi skimmed in France, red for full milk and green for skimmed - not always available. This was 'Alsace Lait' my local brand. Larger France-wide brands such as Candia or Grandlait may cost a bit more. Long life is available but I didn't cost it. It doesn't taste as bad as it used to when I first came to France!!

Apples were from 1.75 € to 2.75 € per kilo depending on the variety.

Strawberries - French garriguette variety (not cheap) were 2.95 € for a punnet of 250 g. Spanish strawberries are much cheaper but they do not keep at all well, and often reach the shops after their peak ... high wastage!

Charentais melon - still early in the season - 2 € each

Tomatoes - early in the season for French ones, but currently around 2 € the kilo.

Butter - supermarket own brand - 1.30 € for 250 g, rising to 2.30 € for President and other 'famous names'. If you like English butter, make sure you look for 'demi-sel' which is less frequently found than 'doux' - unsalted like Lurpak.

Eggs - supermarket own brand 12 medium 2.09 €. Free range will be more expensive as will large ones.

Meat - not quite sure what you meant but here are some ideas ...

Chipolata sausages 8.90 € per kilo, ditto for Merguez - spicy sausages

Pork chops - depending on the cut 6.90 € - 8.90 € per kilo.

Chicken thighs - 5.40 € per kilo

Mince - 8 € per kilo

It's not worth my quoting for chicken as a joint as it all depends on the producer and the region it came from ... and whether it was free range or not. Label Rouge - Red Label - is usually a good quality controlled variety. Note that French chickens are MUCH smaller than those sold in the UK - expect a maximum weight of about 1.5 kg ... 3.5 lbs, and make sure that it isn't poule or coq which will NEVER soften unless you boil the hell out of it for about 6 hours!!! It must be POULET!

Drinks

Kronenbourg - our local beer - 30 x 33 cl bottles = 9.50 €, 30 x 25 cl bottles 7.50 €
Desperados - 6 x 33 cl bottles = 7.35 €
Heineken - 12 x 25 cl bottles = 6.39 €
Coke - 2 litre bottle 1.60 €, 1.5 litre bottle 1.35 €
Orangina 1.5 litre bottle 1.57 €
Sprite 1 litre bottle 1.10 €

NB supermarket own brands are much cheaper than major brands as in the UK ... as is petrol at supermarkets. Make sure you know your chip and pin for supermarket purchases! Hope this helps.

Alsacienne wrote:

OK!
NB supermarket own brands are much cheaper than major brands as in the UK ... as is petrol at supermarkets. Make sure you know your chip and pin for supermarket purchases! Hope this helps.

Just one slight problem at petrol stations most but not all 24hr automatic pumps will not take UK chip and pin bank cards so check them out in the daytime whilst the forecourt is open rather than be almost out of fuel at midnight and be able to get any and run out

thank you for your answers they have been very helpfull it looks like feasting on beer for two weeks not a bad thing ha ha

...... and I didn't look up the price of aspirin, paracetamol or ibuprofen, but am SURE that they cost far more over here than in the UK ... so I buy them in the UK and bring them over!

Alsacienne wrote:

...... and I didn't look up the price of aspirin, paracetamol or ibuprofen, but am SURE that they cost far more over here than in the UK ... so I buy them in the UK and bring them over! ;)

I've never looked as we don't use many but being a nurse I tend to look at some medications and antiseptics and usually find France cheaper on these but I've too never look at basics as here in the UK I get prescriptions which supply such analgesia in 100's where as we can only buy in quantities of 8 or 16 - also I don't use any of them having to take Warfarin (Marevan) so it would be a little difficult

That really amazes me Gray!! I still stock up in the UK because so little is available over the counter here and when it is, even Nurofen or Gaviscon, it costs the earth ... and some meds like Migraleve or Calpol for my younger visitors are not produced or sold in France ...