Despite Paris being one of the world’s most expensive cities, the €1 coffee lives on in a few local institutions. After 10 years, with a crowdsourced interactive map, the Paris city council is still doing its best to make sure it stays that way, as they are frequently the heart of the community.
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There is a constant flow of customers every morning at the Général Beuret, a quirky, superhero-themed brasserie in Paris’s 15th arrondissement (district). As some peruse the newspapers, while others catch up on the neigbourhood news. Everyone, though, orders the same thing: “Un café, s’il vous plaît”.
The ‘Général Beuret’ is one of around 80 cafes in central Paris that still serve espresso coffees for the bargain price of €1, according to an interactive map created by the Paris city council that is still going strong after 10 years.
The local government is stepping in as any Parisian will tell you that these cafés are more than just coffee shops – they are the heart of any neighbourhood, a friendly hub in the bustling capital and a cheap place for young and old alike to socialise.
“We are one of the neighbourhood’s local bars, we have a lot of regulars who come for a lot of reasons,” says Emilie Joly Nicolas, the brasserie’s 27-year-old manager. “It’s certainly true that the fact the coffee is only €1 means our counter is always full with clients coming in before work.”
To create the map, the Paris city council calls upon their Instagram, Tiktok and Facebook followers to share the brasseries, bistros, cafés and restaurants that still offer €1 coffees. The list has grown but is not exhaustive, and the city is still on the lookout. “We still need your help: share your favourite spots!” the Council of Paris website reads.
As one might expect, €1 coffees are hard to come by in the areas that surround the Eiffel Tower and the Champs-Élysées, whereas in the north and northeast of the city – areas less frequented by tourists where housing is cheaper and locals live – they are never more than a metro station away. Only 19 cafes south of the River Seine offer coffee at €1 whereas there are three times that many North of the Seine.
Espressos at some of Paris’s famous, more touristy cafés can far exceed the €1 price tag. An espresso at the famed ‘Café de Flore’ in chic Saint-Germaine-Des-Pres will set customers back €4.90; at ‘La Rotondein Montparnasse’, famously one of French President Emmanuel Macron’s former stomping grounds, a slightly cheaper €3.50.
Paris was ranked the second-most-expensive city in the world in 2021, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit, coming second to only Tel Aviv in Israel. As inflation hovers near 4.5 percent in France, the last stalwarts of the €1 coffee may be tempted to give in to pressure – an outcome it appears the city is trying to prevent.
Though these important neighbourhood community cafés cannot hold out forever against rising prices. The initial map featured almost double the little cups of coffee that there are today.
For places like the Général Beuret, the practice is not about money. Indeed, at €1, there is virtually no margin on an espresso. It is a way to demonstrate loyalty to their clientele. “With my associates, we often talk about changing the prices but never on coffee,” says Joly Nicolas. “It is part of the identity of the place.”
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