Despite Paris being one of the world’s most expensive cities, the EUR1 coffee lives on in a few local institutions. With a crowdsourced interactive map revamped in May, the Paris city council is doing its best to make sure it stays that way.
There is a constant flow of customers every morning at the G?n?ral Beuret, a quirky, superhero-themed brasserie in Paris‘s 15th arrondissement (district). As some peruse the newspapers, others catch up on neighbourhood news. Everyone, though, orders the same thing: “Un caf?, s’il vous pla?t”.
The G?n?ral Beuret is one of around 80 caf?s in central Paris that still serve espressos for the bargain price of EUR1, according to an interactive map created by the Paris city council that is still going strong after 10 years and which recently had a revamp.
“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 EUR1 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, caf?s and restaurants that still offer EUR1 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, EUR1 coffees are hard to come by in the areas that surround the Eiffel Tower and the Champs-?lys?es, whereas in the north and northeast of the city – areas less frequented by tourists where housing is cheaper and more locals live – they are never more than a metro station away. Only 19 caf?s south of the River Seine offer coffee for EUR1 whereas there are three times that many north of the Seine.
Espressos at some of Paris’s famous, more touristy caf?s can far exceed the EUR1 price tag. An espresso at the famed Caf? de Flore in chic Saint-Germain-Des-Pr?s will set customers back EUR4.90; at La Rotonde in Montparnasse, famously one of French President Emmanuel Macron’s former stomping grounds, a slightly cheaper EUR3.50.
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 EUR1 coffee may be tempted to give in to pressure – an outcome it appears the city is trying to prevent.
But many caf?s could not hold out against rising prices; the initial map launched 10 years ago featured almost double the number of EUR1 establishments there are today.
For places like the G?n?ral Beuret, it is not about the money – at EUR1 there is virtually no profit margin on an espresso. Instead, 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.”
