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10 Best Things to Know about Grocery Stores in Paris
A highlight of visiting Paris is the chance to live like a local and engage in the little errands of everyday life in your neighborhood. Nothing says local louder than going to your local grocery store and checking out all the products on sale, what new products are there for you to try, and strolling down the different rows stocked with different products.
French grocery stores aren’t all that different from American ones, even if they are set up a little differently. Despite the difference in set up, they are actually easy to navigate and offer a great experience for locals and foreigners alike.
Interestingly enough, many people know quite a bit about cute Parisians restaurants, but there is very scare information out there about grocery stores in Paris. That being said, this article on the 10 best things to know about grocery stores in Paris will give you a little insight on French grocery store.
1. The major French grocery stores
Franprix store in Paris – Wikipedia
There are a variety of Paris grocery store chains in the city, along with locally owned French grocery stores. The grocery stores vary from being very small to quite large, a given store be large in one area, but it can also have smaller stores in different neighborhoods around the city.
The major grocery stores you’ll see in Paris are Carrefour, Monoprix and Franprix. Carrefour is one of the world’s biggest supermarket chains. Within central Paris the grocery stores are smaller, but just outside the peripheric and elsewhere in Franceare many large scale Carrefours. Carrefour offers a large selection of brands in its stores.
Franprix is the most popular in Paris. This supermarket chain has the most grocery stores in Paris, though not necessarily all of France. Franprix is ideal for basic grocery needs. It is a competitor of Carrefour.
Monoprix is another one of the more popular grocery stores in Paris and is the French version of Walmart. They sell a wide variety of clothing, home goods, electronics, and various affordable products across France.
Other grocery stores you may come across include Casino, Auchan, G20, Intermarché, E. Leclerc, and Picard which specializes in high quality frozen food.
2. ‘Traffic light’ labels in the Grocery stores in Paris
Delhaize crunchy muesli price and Nutri-Score – Wikipedia
Upon entering a Paris grocery store, you may wonder what’s up with the ‘traffic light’ labels on French food?
This food labelling system is known as Nutri-Score. It was introduced in France grocery stores in 2018. Its implementation is supervised by the French Agency for Public Health (Santé Publique France), a body reporting to the French Ministry of Health.
The Nutri-Score is a front-of-pack label that provides user-friendly information on the nutritional quality of food and beverages in accordance to European regulation n° 1169 /2011, also known as the INCO regulation.
Nutri-Score uses five different colors to classify food products into five categories: from category A (dark green), indicating higher nutritional quality, to category E (dark orange), indicating those with the lowest nutritional value.
The goal of this kind of food labelling system is to allow consumers to compare the overall nutritional value of food products from the same group (category), including food products from different manufacturers.
3. Your local grocery stores operating hours
Carrefour City, Paris – Wikipedia
The traditional French shopping week comprises six days, Monday to Saturday, with shops generally open from 9 a.m. to Midday, and 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. On Sundays, practically half of the city shuts down, and this includes Paris grocery stores.
However, things are changing, and in urban shopping areas like Paris, most large shops now operate what is called “la journée continue”, and do not close at midday. This also includes out of town supermarkets and superstores – for instance Carrefour, Leclerc, Auchan, Casino, SuperU (called “centre commerciaux”) do not usually close for lunch.
Many supermarkets in Paris close around 8-9pm. It’s unusual for French grocery stores to have late-night openings as in other countries, and you won’t find 24-hour supermarkets or all-night services in France either.
Avoid going in the evening or after dinner. Many Parisians head to supermarkets in Paris on their way home from work, so the 5-7pm time is often the busiest. This isn’t always the case 100% of the time, but if you can visit a Paris supermarket in the early afternoon or late morning, you will most likely not run into crowds.
Where to buy fresh ingredients in Paris for your cooking.
4. Bring a 1-euro coin (or token) for a shopping cart
A shopping cart – Wikipedia
In Paris, you’ll find the shopping carts inside the doorway of the grocery store. You’ll find them all chained together, and you need a 1 Euro coin to “borrowed” your cart.
When you are finished shopping, return your cart and slide the key back in to the cart in front of you and the Euro coin pops back out again…just a rental.
In many of the supermarkets, there are baskets on wheels that are much easier to use if you only have a small shop to do. These are free and are just inside the entrance. If there are none there, then look under some of the cash desks.
True Parisians shop with their own rolling market basket, to transport all their daily purchases easily, without lugging everything around by hand.
5. The good baguettes are at the boulangerie
Baguettes – Wikipedia
Visiting France and not trying a baguette, the most popular types of bread in French cuisine, is similar to visiting New York and not trying New York Hot dogs.
While many grocery stores have a bakery section, the grocery store baguettes are great in a pinch but aren’t usually made from scratch at the store. The dough is made elsewhere and then baked at the store. If you want truly spectacular bread, make the trip to an actual bakery.
There is no shame in grocery store’s outsourcing their dough, but still it is important to note that the baguettes’ dough is very special. This affects the quality of baguettes produced by the grocery stores. However, there is always an exception to this rule, with some groceries making the extra effort of making their own dough.
On the other hand, most, French bakeries use a polish process, which consists of a mix of yeast and water that’s allowed to ferment overnight. The next day, this mixture is added to the rest of the ingredients. This gives the dough more flavor and aroma
Did you known it is illegal for bread such as baguettes to have any additives other than yeast, salt, and water in France?
Have a look at the best baguettes in Paris.
6. Carry your own bag
Today, many of us are for protecting our environment and doing as little harm to it as possible. Parisians grocery stores are all about “going green” and saving the environment. French grocery stores require customers to pay for bags upon checkout. This is a great way to save the environment.
To avoid additional charges when going to the supermarket, Parisians usually always bring their own reusable grocery bag, pull a little grocery cart, or carry their produce in backpacks. These supermarkets do not give out plastic shopping bags, but sell reusable bags at the register.
The ban on single-use plastic bags mostly used in supermarkets and grocery stores check-outs came in effect in France on 1st of July 2016. According to the French Minister of Environment, an average plastic bag takes one second to make, is used for roughly 20 minutes and takes up to 400 years to degrade naturally.
7. Bag your own groceries
Grocery bag with its content spilling on a wooden table – Unsplash
In France, you will find that you often bag your own groceries. Which can be quite stressful to have to shove your purchases in your bag as quickly as possible because the next customer is waiting to make their purchase.
Sadly, many foreigners, especially those who come to countries where your groceries are bagged for you, feel like it is a Customer Disservice. If you go to a cashier to check out your groceries, the cashier is indeed obligated to bag your groceries.
When you visit Rome, do as the Romans do. There is no shortcut to it, except to just bagging your own groceries. However, luck may be on your side as some small grocery stores in Paris bag the groceries for its customers.
8. Grocery stores in France are cheap
Business concepts, cost-cutting – Unsplash
We are all aware of the fact that French cuisine is more expensive than other cuisines from around the world. However, the prices at supermarkets in Paris are surprisingly low when compared to the price of food, coffee, and alcohol in the majority of the city.
According to Eurostat’s data and price level index, non-alcoholic beverages in France are slightly cheaper than average, as well as milk, cheese and eggs, while alcoholic drinks were, on average, a small amount higher than average.
In simpler terms, you can purchase an entire loaf of fresh bread for about $2USD, a liter of juice for $1.50, or fresh ravioli for $2.50.
Cost of Living in Paris; Everything you need to know.
9. Grocery stores in Paris offer a loyalty card
Earn Points sign – Unsplash
If you find yourself going to the same grocery store over and over again or prefer shopping at a given grocery store while in Paris, be sure to sign up for a loyalty card. Loyalty programs, sponsored by retailers and other businesses, offer rewards, discounts, and other special incentives as a way to attract and retain customers.
Joining is free, and many times these cards work in terms of points or accumulating discounts as a credit on the card to be used later.
For example, certain promo items of the week may cost 5 euros with a special discount of 50 cents that goes as a credit on the card. You pay 5 euros at the time of purchase, but get to use the 50 cents next time around when you redeem your loyalty card balance.
10. Weigh your produce before you go to the register
Weighing potatoes – Unsplash
The grocery stores in Paris tend to let the customers do most of the heavy lifting, from carrying their own bags, bagging their own groceries to even weighing their own produce.
You will be required to weigh your own produce and print the little price sticker to slap on the bag before you get to the register.
Failure to do so will result in leaving your goods at the cashier and running back to the produce section and weigh your veggies. The cashier cannot do it for you. Just imagine the many sting eyes you will receive from the customers who have queued on that line!
Not all grocery stores in France are this way, so just keep your eyes open and see what shoppers around you are doing.
Grocery shopping is essential especially if you need to cook your meals, and here’s some 10 easy French dishes you can make at home. Paris has quite the rich French cuisine experience to offer, obviously, and stepping out for some of that is a great idea if you’re in the city. Check out our available food tours and cooking classes in Paris and book with us for all that and more!
