FRANCE: THE CRISIS CAUSES OUTDOOR CAFES TO CLOSE… ONCE AN INALIENABLE TRADITION, THE MID MORNING APERITIF ENDS. A FALL IN WINE AND BEER SALES

The global recession is even changing habits in Paris. A profound economic crisis has caused the French to renounce one of their most traditional parts of the day: the aperitif at cafes, often taken seated at an outdoor table. The result of this has been that since the beginning of 2008 the closures of one of the most established features of Paris have increased in an exponential manner. According to estimates by insurance companies, as well, it appears that the café sector is suffering a total collapse.

“The number of requests to open procedures for bankruptcy increased by 56% in 2008”, noted Euler Hermes Sface, emphasizing that this data does not include the last two months of October and November, during which the recession hit hardest. The general impression is unanimous, that is, that business is going bad and it will only get worse in the future.
It is primarily a question of a collapse in internal demand. Simply put, the average French citizen has less money to spend and is cutting what’s necessary, starting with the morning coffee drunk at a café, a tradition that, until now, marked a mid-morning habit that was almost never skipped. The fall in consumption also follows into the afternoon, with the decline in beer and wine orders. Even the bistros of Paris are feeling the crunch, just as less typical locales like pubs are.