Le credit crunch
Our Gallic chums are supposed to refer to 'Crise de liquidité', but there's plenty of franglais out there.
Anyway, I have found a survey covering what they will and will not economise on:
Sawbones, pharmacists, mountebanks and snake oil peddlers will be delighted that healthcare etc is the area of expenditure where the Plain People of France are least prepared (13%) to economise. Not an entirely foolish choice, and I will spare a digression on those ailments known only to French medicine, like jambes lourdes, or heavy legs.
Also fairly rational is the attitude to heating, with some 62% considering spending on it inviolate.
And what next might one think? Food? Holidays? Improving books?
Nope, personal care and beauty products. Given that this is a survey supposedly representing all Gauls, note that 49% give a big 'non' to cutting back on this. The average Frenchman is no more a moisturised / lip-glossed metrosexual than are his counterparts in this neck of the woods, and will probably take just the one bottle into the shower, wash his mitts from time to time and shave daily. Projecting from my own experience and thus exhibiting zero statistical validity, I would suspect that the man in the rue would switch to no-name shampoo, soap, razor blades and the like long before he'd economise on rather more important things like Gauloises and Côtes du Rhône. What this says to me is that - to all intents and purposes - French womanhood is putting its collective candy pink slingback down and refusing to cut back on either quality or quantity. A chacun son goût.
Further, and rather less amusing findings suggest that 46% will cut back on transport costs, 50% on Christmas presents and on hols, weekends etc, 52% on technology products (I suspect that the gender divide might be showing up here too...), 53% on food, 54% on fun and games, 55% on household, garden etc stuff and 63% on clothes.
Anyway, I have found a survey covering what they will and will not economise on:
Sawbones, pharmacists, mountebanks and snake oil peddlers will be delighted that healthcare etc is the area of expenditure where the Plain People of France are least prepared (13%) to economise. Not an entirely foolish choice, and I will spare a digression on those ailments known only to French medicine, like jambes lourdes, or heavy legs.
Also fairly rational is the attitude to heating, with some 62% considering spending on it inviolate.
And what next might one think? Food? Holidays? Improving books?
Nope, personal care and beauty products. Given that this is a survey supposedly representing all Gauls, note that 49% give a big 'non' to cutting back on this. The average Frenchman is no more a moisturised / lip-glossed metrosexual than are his counterparts in this neck of the woods, and will probably take just the one bottle into the shower, wash his mitts from time to time and shave daily. Projecting from my own experience and thus exhibiting zero statistical validity, I would suspect that the man in the rue would switch to no-name shampoo, soap, razor blades and the like long before he'd economise on rather more important things like Gauloises and Côtes du Rhône. What this says to me is that - to all intents and purposes - French womanhood is putting its collective candy pink slingback down and refusing to cut back on either quality or quantity. A chacun son goût.
Further, and rather less amusing findings suggest that 46% will cut back on transport costs, 50% on Christmas presents and on hols, weekends etc, 52% on technology products (I suspect that the gender divide might be showing up here too...), 53% on food, 54% on fun and games, 55% on household, garden etc stuff and 63% on clothes.
Labels: Battle of the sexes, France, surveys
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on Thursday, November 13, 2008 at 1:50 pm.
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