With inflation, traders at the Strasbourg Christmas market are adjusting their prices. A reality rather accepted by visitors, who are ready to spend a little more to treat themselves.
A gratinated baguette for 9 euros, white sausage for 10 euros, and a portion of sauerkraut for 15 euros. On the stands of the Strasbourg Christmas market, prices are soaring.
With inflation, some merchants admit to having adapted their prices and this does not go unnoticed by visitors.
“It’s a bit expensive. For students like us, it’s not easy every day,” says Théo at the microphone of BFM Alsace. “We still want to have fun. Christmas is about sharing… and there, we don't really feel it.”
Sabine, a tourist from Gard, recognizes that “in Colmar, it was a little cheaper for everything related to Christmas shopping”.
Visitors know what to expect
Despite the high prices, visitors make up their minds. “It's a certain price. If you want to go to the Christmas market, you have to take into account the fact that there is pleasure. Pleasure, now, also has to be paid for,” puts a visitor into perspective.
Fanny paid 9 euros for her “baguiflette”, which she finds “a little excessive”, but she knows that it is an expense that she does not afford every day.
“Since we're at the Strasbourg Christmas market, when we come, we know what we're getting into, and we fully expect that it's not going to be cheap,” she explains.
Many also develop their techniques to find the most correct price possible in the middle of the stands. “We compare the different merchants and the different products, and we find that it is still quite reasonable, and we find what we are looking for,” says a visitor.
Some merchants try to maintain their prices from one year to the next. On the Good Humor stand, a glass of mulled wine remains at 5 euros, the same price as last year.
“It’s a price that worked well, and we have to think about everyone, we also have students who come to the stand,” explains Marion, the stand’s saleswoman.
The Strasbourg Christmas market remains open every day until December 27.
Kevin Drouant, Adrien Petiteau with Laurène Rocheteau
