It's sale time in France. The sales, 'les soldes', are controlled by the french government and are only permitted for fixed periods twice a year. It stops the kind of dishonest year-round 'discounting' prevalent over here and gives retailers a more level playing field. And it gives consumers some incredible bargains. Especially this year, where one trader described economic conditions in Calais as 'devastating'.
Until Saturday 2 August the prices of everything from high fashions to household goods have been slashed by up to 75%. If that sounds attractive - and remember prices here are also being reduced - the most civilised way to cross the Channel is generally by Eurotunnel, with day trips for insomniacs from £44, realistically expect to pay £54. And the cheapest we've found is P&0 from £34.
For the kind of thing on offer check these sites:
Big shopping centre
http://en.citeeurope.com/vue/form/citeeuropeuk/accueil/accueil.htm
Useful for prices in sterling at one of the big supermarkets...
http://www.carrefour-calais.com/modulosite2/new-gb.htm
...washing powder is still cheaper in France
http://www.carrefour-calais.com/modulosite2/fiche.php?id_bouton=15&fr=0&id=732&ss_rub=401&page_centre=app/catalogue/liste_apercu_gb.php
And of course the mighty Day Tripper site with info about everything including another big supermarket
http://www.day-tripper.net/supermarketauchan.html
Calais in perspective
More than 20 years ago I worked in Calais, northern France. It was a bleak and damaged region reminiscent of the north of England I'd grown up in. The Calais people were however buoyed by plans posted on the wall in the town hall for a new fast railway link that would join Paris and London via the new Channel tunnel. While people in Kent were still on the streets protesting that a tunnel should never be built, the French were getting on with it regardless.
Some years later I wrote a series of articles on the effect on various industries of the impending opening of the Channel tunnel. It was a huge leap of faith, particularly for the hotel trade, but once the tunnel had opened the area was transformed and the optimism was richly rewarded. I, along with many other people, suddenly found myself going shopping in Calais, where most things were cheaper. And so it more or less continued. Until now.
Today, we're faced with the double indignity of hatefully expensive petrol and a punitive pound/euro exchange rate. The benefits of trans-Manche shopping are suddenly rather limited; largely reserved for the bulk beer and wine brigade and smokers, who incidentally should cross the border into Belgium for the cheapest fags.
But there are bargains to be had. The best buys I found were shoes, clothes, garden furniture, bikes, hairdressing and fresh fruit and veg. The day I was there the few people around weren't buying so we can expect even more discounting as the 2 August deadline approaches. Although it's very unlikely, there was a palpable feeling that the region could be heading for a crisis reminiscent of the dark, pre-tunnel days.
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