The price of the baguette continues to increase. It can go very high because it varies greatly depending on the city and the bakeries.
Every second that passes, more than 300 baguettes of bread are sold and consumed in France, or nearly 10 billion per year. It is an essential product in France, the vast majority of French people eat a little of it every day. If the French are still great fans of bread, its price has continued to increase.
During the 2010s, the price of the baguette was rather stable, averaging around 90 cents. In two years, from the end of 2020 to the end of 2022, a notable increase of 6% in the price of bread was noted, bringing the baguette to 93 cents on average. In 2024, the average price of a baguette is just 1 euro.
But it is not uncommon to pay more for it. This is in particular what was notified Hello Fresha company which offers the delivery of specific ingredients to make recipes at home, in a study based on figures from INSEE. This was carried out in early autumn 2024 in ten bakeries in the ten largest cities in France.
First lesson: in the bakeries studied, the price of the classic baguette was analyzed closely and breaks down as follows: 48% of the price of the baguette is paid into the salaries of bakery workers, 22% for flour, 11% for rents, 6% for taxes, 5% for energy as well as an average margin of 8%. The National Confederation of French Bakeries and Pastries therefore justifies the price increases by the increase in wages, the increase in the price of wheat and the price of flour or even energy.
But the study also allows us to know if you pay more for your baguette than elsewhere in France. And it highlights big differences in prices depending on the city. In a top 10 of large French cities according to the price of the baguette, only Marseille, placed in tenth position, offers a baguette for less than one euro on average (€0.97). The cheapest price found in one of the Marseille bakeries studied was even 80 cents.
From ninth to fifth place, we respectively find Nantes (€1.03), Toulouse (€1.04), Lyon (€1.05), Montpellier (€1.07) and Nice (€1.08) , with a baguette for less than €1.10. Lille and Bordeaux offer their baguette at €1.10 for the northern town and €1.12 for the south-western city. Finally, two cities take the lead in the ranking with the same average price of €1.19. Without too much surprise, Paris is the city where the baguette costs the most, but what is more surprising is that the capital is tied with Strasbourg.
It was in the City of Lights that the most expensive baguette was found: it was priced at €1.45, in several bakeries. “Despite its similar average price, Strasbourg does not present baguettes at such a high price, offering greater homogeneity of prices,” explained Hello Fresh to RMC. The study sample was also limited.