Menus too expensive and tight budgets

Half-burrata and a tomato: 18 euros. Really ? Grégory does not give up: “Given the economic context, which can still afford a restaurant outing? “This framework recognizes, however,” not having any money problems “. But back from three weeks of vacation in Corsica with his wife and children, he underlines the explosion of the cost of living: “For a family of four, a dish with a bottle of wine, and you go up very quickly to 150 euros. Inevitably, it weighs on the budget. ” Result: “We have lunch at the rental house rather and we prefer to offer an activity to children.”

The first figures of the season confirm this feeling: with a purchasing power in decline, vacationers reduce the expenses deemed “pleasure”. Already in May, an IPSOS survey for the France Tourism Alliance announced the color: 70 % of vacationers planned to cut over unnecessary expenses (restaurants, leisure or shopping). “We leave all the same, but we pay attention,” sums up Michelle, retired, who spent a few days in the Channel this summer.

Buying power and deraid prices

Consequence: the attendance of restaurants is retreating. According to the UMIH (Union of Hotel Trades and Industries), it fell 15 to 20 % in July and early August. The figure reaches 30 % in certain regions, as in Cantal. “We see it right away: people will share a dessert, do not order from the start or settle for a glass of wine rather than a bottle,” observes Yohan, owner of a pizzeria in Corsica. If the crowds of his establishment did not drop compared to the 2024 season, the average addition capsizes at 37 euros per table – about ten euros less than in 2024.

The drop in regime is not explained only by purchasing power, nuance Pauline, which also deplores “sometimes unreasonable prices”. In some seaside resorts, she says she had the feeling of “being fooled” in the face of “flavor without flavor, sometimes thawed”. An observation shared by Yohan in his pizzeria, very critical of these “cash machines” which “penalizes” those who, like him, try to “work with fresh products”. Fearing to be cheated, Pauline, who went camping with her parents in the Alps, then on the Norman coast, near Cabourg (Calvados), finally preferred to opt for the picnic.

Fragile balance

But how to lower the price of menus? The economic equation of restaurateurs is fragile. In a sector affected by a shortage of servers and cooks, hiring staff is expensive. The available workforce is often unskilled and undocumented. “If we want to attract experienced professionals, supervised by an employment contract, we must offer remuneration that exceeds 2000 euros net, taking into account times and workload. With social benefits, even for a seasonal job, you can be quickly caught in the throat. ”

To this social requirement are added costs that are buckling: energy, rents, but also raw materials such as butter, chocolate or fruits and vegetables. “Today, a restaurant that offers homemade background reaches barely 2 %”, alerted, on France Inter, Thierry Marx, star chef and president of the UMIH. In other words, on an addition of 100 euros, once the wages and the charges are adjusted, the restaurateur only retains 2 euros in profit.

Not enough to make follies. But certain reasons for optimism remain: the generalization of telework lengthening the duration of stays, the softness of temperatures in September or the exodus of retirees once the grandchildren left could contribute to prolonging the season beyond August 31 and offering a second breath to a summer half-tone period.