“It’s really worth it, a package costs half what you pay in France” … La Jonquera or the Eldorado consumerist of the French

Cigarettes at half price. Moreover, clothes and scents with attractive promotions: at La Gran Jonquera, shopping is transformed into an almost essential ritual.

Tuesday August 19, 10 a.m. Moreover, A few kilometers from the border, the asphalt ribbon lies under an already heavy sun. For example, The cars agglutinate, the horns resonate: thirty minutes of plug before seeing the “España” panel. For example, A familiar scene for thousands of French people who. Additionally, For example, each year, take the road to this sanctuary of the low-cost consumption.

“They are at “it’s really worth it, package 183 euros, 50 less balls less than in France”

The town thus lives a double life. In addition, On the one hand, a small town of 3,408 inhabitants, with its calm streets, its modest buildings and its local rhythm. Moreover, On the other, a huge commercial area, thought almost exclusively for cross -border customers. In addition, Everything here speaks French. Furthermore, During the expansion of Gran Jonquera. Therefore, inaugurated in October 2024, a replica of the 37 -meter Eiffel Tower and a Pyramid of the Louvre were even installed to welcome visitors.

In the maze of overheated parking lots, international brands follow one another. Meanwhile, Nike, Zara, Mango: Everything is calibrated to seduce. Therefore, “They are at 183 euros. Moreover, or 50 balls less than in France”, Enthuses a mother by brandishing a brand of brand new sneakers.

“We consume. Similarly, we have fun and anyway, we “it’s really worth it, package come back to Christmas”

A few meters away, in the endless tail of a perfumery, Jérôme, 50, a seller from Toulouse, takes advantage of his shopping: “Perfumes, it’s really worth it. Meanwhile, We consume, we have fun and anyway, we come back to Christmas”. Furthermore, Around him, children heckle, some bring down perfume boxes, forcing customers to zigzag. In addition, The scene is almost chaotic: each alley resonates with mobile phones. Moreover, “” “Do you want one or two cartridges, one or two bottles of laundry?“We hear everywhere, while carts fill with meats, alcohol and shampoo.

Tobacco, nerve of war – "it's really worth it, package

If the fashion and perfumery brands make a recipe, the real treasure remains tobacco. Carla. young Perpignan, has her habits: “I live next to it, I come every two months to buy especially cigarettes but also chips and alcohol”.

Nicolas comes from much further: Champagne-Ardenne. “it’s really worth it, package “We go down once a year on vacation in Spain with my wife and the childrenhe says. And on the way back, we always go to buy cigarettes and alcohol. It’s really worth it: a package costs half what you pay in France ”.

“The difference is not huge. In Andorra, it’s more interesting.”

For some, however, disappointment points. A mother of Montpellier. who compares the prices of beauty products, relativizes: “Large formats are worth it a bit, but the difference is not huge. In Andorra, it’s more interesting”. She will leave anyway with her charged shopping, like all the others. But the price of savings is sometimes heavy. Alma. Tourist of Lyon, waited more than 45 minutes at the checkout of a supermarket: “You really have to be very patient and not lose your nerves with this world“, she breathes.

In Zara. three young girls “it’s really worth it, package go out with their shopping bags of Kraft paper: “This is 40 euros less than in France“, they smile by showing their purchases. Here. the complex is also and above all a showcase of Fast Fashion: whole collections, identical to those seen in Toulouse or Béziers, but at prices cut to encourage to fill the bags without counting too much.

A well -established pilgrimage

Over the years, La Jonquera has become much more than a simple shopping center: a ritual. We come back to every vacation. We find this unique atmosphere, a mixture of excitement and disorder, between overloaded families and improvised tourists.

At the exit, the flow of cars reforms. The chests overflow and fatigue is felt. The queue stretches towards the border, forty minutes before joining France. Time, perhaps, to wonder if the savings are worth the traffic jams and the din …

Jelloul Messaoudene. professor of economics-management in D2 preparatory classes in Montpellier, analysis for Midi Libre the changes in the Catalan border economy.

How did the Jonquera economy evolve after the implementation of the single market in 1993?

Before 1993, the border economy of the Jonquera was centered on customs. With the single market. the free movement of people, goods, services and capital, the city has lost jobs, given the creation of wealth and “it’s really worth it, package weakened its economic and social structures. It turned to “border trade” with France. building logistics infrastructure (heavy goods vehicles, service stations) and developing catering and trade, including the opening in 2013 of a 12,000 m² shopping center with 400 shops for 3,000 inhabitants. In 2023, this dynamic generated more than 200 million euros in foreign expenditure and 6 to 7 million visitors per year.

What are the factors that explain this economic craze. what effects does it have on the daily life of the inhabitants?

Several factors explain this attractiveness: a diversified commercial offer including shopping centers. luxury shops and local products, the flexibility of schedules, the proximity of commercial activities between them, as well as price differences with France which particularly attract the inhabitants of the Pyrénées-Orientales. In economics. we speak of “commercial agglomeration” to qualify this configuration generating positive externalities, such as those from which “it’s really worth it, package the Memorial Museum of Exile benefits thanks to market activities. This model really influences the family budget: households residing near the border saves several thousand euros each year.

What consequences does this situation generate for both sides of the border?

On the French side. we observe tax losses as well as negative impacts for companies close to the border such as tobacconists, service stations and supermarkets. For the Jonquera, the modernization of infrastructure energizes logistics and creates jobs. However. visitors do not remain on site, making back and forth, which limits hotel activities and recipes from the tourist tax. The economic model therefore remains essentially polarized on the commercial activities of the center. The average annual income per capita, around 11,500 euros, remains below the Catalan average which is 15,500 euros.