Maybe, the choice for most governments is let inflation increase or add to the national debt.
I’ve seen arguments for and against both… I think @Geof_Cox has posted a commentary on the feature/benefits for and against both in recent times.
At the end of the day, for mere mortals like you and me, it’s more about quality of life
That’ll be interesting. But frankly I’m confident the sans-culottes here (AKA gilet jaunes) will keep prices below the sheeple in Blighty.
FFS. And if my aunt had balls she’d be my uncle.
Unfortunately you are right, and the uk isn’t all bad, both countries have plus and minus points…most SFers understandably disliked Johnson and to a lesser degree the Tories and thus have a downer on Blighty …but I’ve lost count of the number of French peole who hate Macron, le Pen and Mélenchon with the same Boris hating passion, and feel that France has lost its way, is run by the elite and Brussels politicians call the tune…but don’t want Frexit.
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University education to MA/PhD level so 5 to 8 years X 5. I would not have been able to afford it in the UK, for me that probably trumps anything else. And my children aren’t going into the world laden with debt.
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France in general isn’t a low cost country and with the exception of the big supermarkets price competition is limited. Discounts …forget them, the price adverised is the price you pay, in general if you don’t acept the price then the retailer don’t seem to be too bothered if you walk away…but the quality if retail staff and number of them in a shop exceeds the uk in my HO.
Even online prices seem less competitive
The Guardian article headline implies that everything in the UK is more expensive because of Brexit. I am simply pointing out that this isn’t true. Yes it is no surprise that cheddar is cheaper (but that doesn’t mean it isn’t) and No I am not hankering after food I used to buy (I don’t even like cheese unless it’s cooked). I just want truth - if it’s bad, okay, as long as it’s true. I don’t know about clothes because I haven’t bought any for ages (and it depends which shops you’re comparing) but I bought my little bike from France years ago because it was cheaper here.
As I said previously, Pascal, a frenchman said it was expensive to live in France. Maybe he’s a liar.
Macron must be doing something right , his personal popularity is rising monthly.
We’ve just taken delivery of a bike for one of our UK guests, which they’re taking back to UK now in their car. Their saving was enormous - hundreds of pounds.
I really do think this discussion comes down to what you buy. I fully understand that if you focus on supermarket lines France can seem more expensive - but really, if you take a broader view and include things like housing, transport, or putting your kids through uni, a few cents difference at the supermarket till is pretty irrelevant.
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but, as has been pointed out, it is what you make it… the culture and its people encourages it if one embraces the change…
exactly as it should be… there are reasons why retailers discount… very often to shift goods that were overpriced in the first place and intended to rip people off 
a positive then John 
people on here often complain about shoddy customer service - not something we have found personally but there yo go - take as you find…
and often people forget that things here are priced in Euro, not GBP - and easy mistake if you are not cognisant of the fact there are more Euro to GBP… and the rate fluctuates.
Yes, mine was lower than the average at 5.5%. It seemed to suggest that electricity and gas had increased by 28.5% in France. Don’t know about gas, but my electricity increased by 3.9% last autumn and 4% earlier this year, which doesn’t come to 28.5%. I’m actually paying the same this year as I’ve reduced my consumption by about 10% mainly due to using the rooftop solar we have more efficiently.
And, so is HP sauce, and Heinz baked beans. I don’t buy either, but use French equivalents which end up being a fraction of the price.
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…or maybe the quoted price is the one the retailer would ideally like but would be prepared to take less and still make profit rather than lose a sale…is possibly a less cynical approach.
If you live in France permanently or long term could some kind soul please tell me how these comparison discussions are useful unless you are planning a buying trip or have someone bringing stuff for you?
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In my experience they are not since they often end up in a pissing contest. I think it was more relevant when the UK was still in the EU but since that has changed, its relevance has perhaps diminished.
It certainly has for us; we now source zilch from the UK directly and rely instead on EU resources.
Sometimes of course the comparisons are useful to confirm that right purchasing decisions were made, no more than that
Yes, agree about informing purchasing decisions though I mainly buy things I cant get here like The Beano ( though if I wanted to pay the extra p n p I could get it delivered)
But as I often go to Belgium I find the comparisons there more useful.
Simon Kuper, ‘Whereas the French always believe they are sliding into some catastrophe, the English are complacent.’
For a comparison of many differences between ‘how things are’ and how people behave differently in the UK and France, these six articles by Simon Kuper (FT) in Le Monde are worth a read. Available in EN too although both versions may require a subscription.
(Ignore the title Actualités, vidéos et infos en direct)
The irony of this whole price discussion for me personally is that all the friends and family from the U.K. I’ve had come stay recently have gone on at length about how much cheaper their shopping in France is. The first time someone said that to me I think they thought they were going to need the smelling salts or something as I was so astonished as I’ve always thought, and known, France to be wildly expensive compared to the U.K. (let’s not get into whether there are sound reasons why), but while this is entirely anecdotal based on my friends and fam who may well be as lacking in sense as I am, all they kept saying on a trip round the supermarket was how much cheaper everything is compared to its identical version in the U.K. (so I’m talking big name global brands) due to the wild FMCG inflation this year. Clearly I have no evidence to back it up, but then there’s no evidence that Pascal is right either 