One of the biggest clichés about French food could have its days numbered, as burgers become more popular than jambon-beurre (the ham and butter baguette) in France.
Last year almost 1.5 billion burgers were sold in France, an increase of 9% from 2016.
"We've been talking about a burger frenzy for three years. This year, we don't know how to describe the phenomenon. It's just crazy," .
Price is definitely not a factor for the new food-shift, as burgers are more expensive in France (on average, 11.58 euros) than jambon-beurre (2.94 euros). Burgers are coming on top mainly because they are sold in restaurants, unlike the jambon-beurre, which is more of a takeaway lunch found in bakeries. Seventy-percent of burgers last year were sold in restaurants with table service and only 30 percent in fast-food restaurants.
The jambon-beurre remains the most popular sandwich in France, (with 50.5% of market share) but losing some of its appeal as French consumer grow more health-conscious by choosing multigrain bread and sandwiches with vegetables.
The classique jambon-beurre is getting less and less popular in France. CC BY-SA 4.0 / Al4az Source: CC BY-SA 4.0 / Al4az
Conseil also found that more gastronomic and expensive fast-food restaurants were emerging in France. Even McDonalds has got on the bandwagon in the last few years, offering burgers with camembert, macarons and McBaguette.
