• Charles III is to be crowned King of Great Britain on Saturday, May 6, eight months after the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II.
  • "20 Minutes" wondered whether, on the occasion of such an event, the British would stock up on alcohol in France where prices are much lower than in Britain.
  • However, several factors are pushing local traders to contain their enthusiasm, including Brexit restrictions and prices for sea crossings.

In the good old days before Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic, Britons used to replenish their alcohol stocks in Calais before taking the boat back home. If the flow of British to local traders was more or less regular throughout the year, it sometimes turned into a real rush, especially before Christmas. And if the occasion makes the thief, should we expect an equivalent phenomenon ahead of the coronation of Charles III which is to take place next Saturday? Not so sure.

Seventy years after his mother, Elizabeth II, who died on September 8, Charles III will be officially crowned King of the United Kingdom on Saturday, May 6. An event that will certainly mark an entire people, many of whom will drink a shot to celebrate when some others will raise their elbows to forget. In any case, our former European partners will have to stock up. "When the borders opened in the 1990s, the English arrived en masse to buy in France, including alcohol and tobacco, which cost much less here than at home," recalls François Lurette of the Calais Côte d'Opal tourist office. He also says that shipping companies had set up "day trips", one-day round trips during which the British robbed wine, beer and spirits merchants. "We had even seen shops specializing in tax relevance, run by English for English," says Olivier Versmisse, a wine merchant in Calais.

"Before, the English were just passing through"

That's all over. "Between the Covid epidemic, Brexit, inflation at home and the price of the crossing, it is no longer at all profitable for the English to come and shop here," admits François Lurette. Indeed, with the travel restrictions put in place during the pandemic, the British had completely disappeared from the landscape. Except that today, they are slow to return according to INSEE, which has determined a deficit of English tourists of nearly 20% in 2022 in the Hauts-de-France compared to the level before the health crisis. "We see a little more lately, but it is not related to the upcoming coronation of Charles III," says the boss of the Wines of Calais. "There were more at Easter, and now because it's the time of weddings," adds Thierry Leprêtre, associate manager of the Calais wine superstore.


In fact, Brexit has pushed Britons to travel differently. "Before, they just passed by, whereas now they stay there for a night or two. They sleep in hotels, go to restaurants and go shopping," said Rodolphe Leprince, president of the Union des commerçants de Calais. Shopping for everything, including alcohol, even if it's in smaller quantities than before Brexit. "The British have a much smaller franchise today, increased to 73 liters of alcohol per person against 230 liters before Brexit," explains to 20 Minutes the Regional Directorate of Customs and Indirect Taxes of Dunkirk. Quantities that remain honorable for the manager of the Calais wine superstore: "For a wedding, we see the groom and two witnesses who fill the car, he says. It still makes us baskets at 600 euros. »

So, even if fewer of them cross the Channel, the English who do so never leave empty-handed. "Whether they come for one reason or another, the return is always an opportunity for them to do the shopping," says the spokesman for the tourist office of Calais Côte d'Opale. And the manager of the Vins du Calaisis admits, "often, they take the maximum quantities". And if few traders bet on the coronation of Charles III to explode their alcohol sales, all bet big on another event: the Rugby World Cup which is to take place in France from September 8 to October 28. "We are already preparing the communication for this event," says Olivier Versmisse. "We expect a lot of benefits for the coast, especially since the England team will reside in Le Touquet," hopes the tourist office. And depending on the course of the Fifteen of the Rose, as for the coronation of the king, the English will drink to victory or to drown their sorrow.

  • Society
  • England
  • Great Britain
  • King Charles III
  • Alcohol
  • Calais
  • Pas-de-Calais
  • Hauts-de-France
  • Nord-Pas-de-Calais
  • Commerce
  • Brexit