“A glass of wine is expensive!” : at the Christmas markets, a little magic… a lot of profits

Mulled wine, pretzels, wooden chalets… The Christmas markets opened their doors like every year during this season. Throughout the month of December, you will find your gifts, your evening meal or a drink to warm you up, but the prices could well cool you down. “7 euros for mulled wine, that’s how expensive a glass of wine is”quips a retiree strolling through the aisles of the La Défense Christmas market, in the TF1 8 p.m. report visible above. A young girl continues in the same tone: “I like hot juices, but 6 euros a glass! There is a juice, there are three cloves and there is a little ginger. After a while, we will make the groceries, we pay for it, it cost 3 euros and I have a liter”.

But high prices are not the only trap. They are often accompanied by attractive inscriptions: artisanal manufacturing, made in France… A set of arguments to justify these expensive prices, but which are difficult to convince. “We see that behind it, there are lots of boxes. We feel that there is too much for it to really be homemade,” a young woman is suspicious in front of our camera. “I bought an essential oil diffuser at a price that is still quite expensive, and in the end, I realized that after 2-3 tries, it no longer worked,” attests for his part a father of a family.

“Made in the People's Republic of China”

Another example, with a jewelry stand. Here, we praise the craftsmanship, but the labels reveal the inscription “made in PRC”, meaning, made in the People's Republic of China. Regional specialties are not spared either. Using a hidden camera, our team goes to a chalet offering real Alsatian sauerkraut, but the ingredients are not very traditional. “These are Toulouse sausages”blurts the seller. Count on 12 euros per tray all the same, and these traders are obviously specialists in all regions. “We make raclette, tartiflette, whatever you want. Crepes, waffles, kebabs”, they list.

Look for official labels

To combat these dubious allegations, the fraud repression is increasing checks during the holiday period. Last year, the TF1 news notably followed two agents on the Reims market, who had caught an oyster seller in front of our cameras.

And to spot the pitfalls, TF1 journalist Valentin Dépret, in his column “The 1 p.m. at your side”, recently listed some good reflexes to have:

– First, carefully observe the number of references sold. “If the seller highlights his artisanal know-how, but he offers you a hundred different nougats or a hundred different candles, we are perhaps no longer in the craft business”underlines Valentin Depret in the video to be found below.

– Also take a look at the composition of the products, it may alert you.

– Don't rush to chalets either because they put forward phrases like “authentic products” or “traditional recipe”, that doesn't mean much. “Above all, look for official labels that guarantee the origin of the products, such as the AOP (protected designation of origin), the AOC (controlled designation of origin) and the IGP (protected geographical indication). And then one last qu “we know a little less: the STG label for guaranteed traditional specialty, there, you are sure that the recipe is truly traditional”explains Valentin Depret.

So think carefully before buying! Especially since a Christmas market is considered a fair or a show and the Consumer Code is very clear in this case: there is no right of withdrawal.