Having a beer at the bar or on the terrace is not far from becoming a luxury for Parisians, as well as for tourists passing through the most visited capital in the world. According to the latest price statements from the Numbeo site, it now costs 7 euros on average to pay for a pint of national brand beer in a Parisian bar..
Even the can or bottle of the same brand costs an average of 2.2 euros in supermarkets. A higher price than in London, where its price is still comparable in pubs. So that Paris is on the third step of the podium of the great European capitals where beer is the least affordable.
The pint three times cheaper in Prague and Budapest
To find something more expensive you have to go to Copenhagen (7.4 euros) or Helsinki, which comes out first with a pint at 8 euros in bars but also at 2.70 euros in supermarkets. To toast at the best price, beer lovers will have to opt for Berlin (4 euros), Warsaw (3.1 euros), Madrid (3 euros), Lisbon (2.5 euros), Prague (2.3 euros) or Budapest (2.1 euros). Knowing that in the supermarkets of these capitals, the 50 cl can or bottle costs around 1 euro.
How are these price differences explained? Taxation, which varies from country to country, has its share of responsibility. Beer is taxed four times less in Germany than in France. And it is in fact in Finland that the state gets the lion’s share of beer sales. However, in a pint, tax-related differences are counted in cents or, in the worst case, tens of cents.
The level of taxes does not explain everything
It is, in reality, in the weight of the traditions where the main explanation must be sought. Beer is cheapest in the countries where it is drunk the most: Czech Republic (annual per capita consumption: 129 l), Austria (101 l), Poland (92 l), Germany (89 l). Countries where the pint is the usual base dose. Brewers can make up for their relatively weak margins by volumes sold.
The price effect can also play an inverse role in consumption. Given that the pint is especially cheap in Spain and Portugal, we observe in these two countries with a wine tradition an annual consumption per inhabitant much higher than that of France: about fifty liters compared to 32 in France.
Source: BFM TV
