French consumers cut back spending

Popular choice: RN candidate Le Pen, who is leading in the polls, wants to cut value-added tax on energy. — Photo: AFP

A CASH-strapped customer split an entrecote steak with a companion the other day at David Zenouda’s Paris restaurant while others increasingly share starters, skip wine at lunch or opt only for a main course.

It’s a sign of the times for businesses that depend on France’s increasingly frugal consumers, squeezed by rising inflation, high energy prices and mounting economic anxiety ahead of next year’s presidential election.