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Most of the Christmas celebrations in France begin with the decoration of the traditional fir tree. Taken from forests across the country, most of the trees will end their journey as the centerpiece in French living rooms.
Rene Jonquille typically cuts around 12,000 trees, but this year, the number of store orders has dropped.
He believes there is a lot of uncertainty among consumers about how they will handle the Christmas celebrations this year.
“I think we are going to sell Christmas trees anyway, but we don’t know how customers are going to buy them,” he says. “Are you going to come to our point of sale, are you going to buy them in garden centers or supermarkets?”
Last year around seven million Christmas trees were bought in France, with an estimated turnover of more than 190 million euros.
Chocolatier, sous-chef Valentin Bonnin, is already preparing the holidays with a Christmas classic called Golden Palace, made with cocoa mass, cocoa butter and edible golden zest.
December usually represents 40% of its turnover, and this Christmas is even more crucial after a year marked by falling sales. But he remains optimistic.
“I think the French will continue to celebrate Christmas and Christmas logs are very traditional and anchored in people’s minds, so I think Christmas cake will remain a must have,” he says.
Judging from the flow of customers in his store, it seems that the French are planning Christmas earlier than in previous years.
It is clear that those most affected by the crisis could see their Christmas budget reduced, but thanks to President Macron’s announcement last Tuesday, at least families will be able to see each other, even if it is in smaller numbers than usual.
See Guillaume Petit’s report in the video player above.
