Foreign tourists in Paris are being charged as much as 50 per cent more than French customers, an undercover investigation has found.
The city’s leading newspaper, Le Parisien, found that several tourists from outside of France had been posting complaints online about being overcharged.
So they sent out a Parisian the Champ-de-Mars near the Eiffel Tower.
They also dressed up one of their reporters as an American tourist and directed them to the same cafe to reveal exactly what was happening at the holidaymaker hotspots.
But what they stumbled across was shocking.
They both seated themselves at the unnamed diner and ordered the same dish – lasagna, a Coke and water. All the while they had been filming themselves.
The clearly ‘French’ customer was served a can of Coke for for €6.50 (£5.63) and offered a carafe of water along with his dish.
However, the ‘American’ was not offered a small can, only a ‘medium or large Coke’.
Le Parisien dressed up one of their reporters as an American tourist to see if they would be charged more than a Parisian in a cafe
Foreign tourists in Paris are being charged as much as 50 per cent more than French customers, the undercover investigation found
When it arrived, it was just half a litre and cost €9.50 (£8.23).
As for the water, the ‘American’ received no offer for a carafe, which is free, but was instead made to spend a further €6 (£5.20) for a small bottle of Vittel.
The server also offered the ‘American’ a side of garlic bread without specifying that it was an extra. They were later charged a further €6 (£5.20).
The pair then walked to a different nearby cafe-restaurant to test its policy on tipping.
When the bill arrived, the French customer noticed their receipt included an obligatory ten per cent service charge.
But the ‘American’ tourist was asked if he wanted to tip as ‘service isn’t included’.
And to make matters worse, when he agreed to add a 10 per cent tip via the card machine, he noticed the waiter had discreetly hidden the amount and increased this to 15 per cent.
But this is not the first time Paris has used elaborate scams to make the most out of their hapless tourists.
Last month, Paris cafes were caught cheating unsuspecting suspects out of good-quality wine.
An undercover sommelier ordered a glass of Chablis costing around €9 (£7.65), but the wine being served was actually the cheapest on the menu – a €5 (£4.25) sauvignon.
Shockingly, the customer was then charged the higher amount.
Wine merchant Marina Giuberti said: ‘It’s a pity for the customer and for the image of the wine appellation, for the winemaker and for the restaurant owners who do a good job.’
The clearly ‘French’ customer was served a can of Coke for for €6.50 (£5.63) and offered a carafe of water along with his dish
A number of American tourists quizzed by Le Parisien on restaurant rules thought that you always had to pay for water, as that was their experience.
‘Usually they bring a bottle of water, you have to pay for even when we say still,’ said one French woman.
Franck Trouet of the hotel and restaurant umbrella group GHR said: ‘It’s a disgrace to the profession. You can’t even call these people waiters.
‘You should know that in France, water and bread are free. One can refuse a bottle of water. The tip is to express thanks for the service if one is very satisfied. Above all, it is not compulsory. This is not the United States’.
He added that waiters’ eagerness to increase the tip had been pushed when French President Emmanuel Macron decided to waive taxes on ‘le pourboire’.
Now, tips made in French restaurants and cafes using a bank card are no longer taxable.
The increased usage of electronic pay machines that automatically suggest a tip of at least five per cent has supercharged the trend to try and make more from paying customers.
It comes after a popular Greek tourist resort was recently labelled the ‘ultimate rip-off’ for drinks.
One of Greece’s prettiest spots, the ancient Old Town of Rhodes, was red flagged as a major hotspot for overcharging tourists, according to reviews on Google and TripAdvisor.
The area’s narrow network of streets are filled with places to imbibe everything from local Dodecanese beer to shots of ouzo, but according to some disgruntled tourists, a visit to Rhodes’ Old Town also leaves visitors vulnerable to inflated prices – with a string of bars accused of ‘scamming’ tourists.
