May Cognac Boost the Economy in France? Whether and How? An Email about this is going Viral in France.

There is an anonymous slideshow which is being emailed between thousands of people in France which is going viral.  It is offering the consumption of alcoholic beverages produced in France as a solution to boost the French economy out of recession.

In France, everyone right now is worried about the state of the economy paired with the new socialist president Francois Hollande. In addition, Spain is on the verge of declaring bankruptcy which is going to hurt France.  This ‘presentation’ being shared among people is stating that French people should perform their civic duties by consuming French made products only and that booze are the only one left that are really French -  a particular emphasis is made on the consumption of ‘cognac’, hence my interest.

I am only reporting this assertion in full to bring to light this Franco-French news.  I do not know when this email buzz started and who started it, and I am not endorsing it. This is just news! And I am not sure what is the real purpose behind it but people are forwarding it to each other, and by now it must be millions of people know who have seen it.

Cognac has never really been consumed in France and it has always been an export product stimulating the French ‘balance of trade’.  Cognac has a positive economical effect on the French economy from the production perspective rather than consumption perspective. Let's look at a few key figures:

. 99% of the cognac produced is exported.

. Most of the 1% of cognac produced and consumed in France, is consumed by Asian French individuals and tourists, mostly tourists in the Cognac region.

. 40% is exported to the USA, and 35% by Asian countries and growing.

. Only time when France significantly consumed cognac was during Napoleon's wars against the English, Dutch, Russians and Germans about 200 years ago.  The countries above represented 90% of the cognac consumers at the time and French people could not sell it to them due to the wars, so the French had to drink cognac for a few years - true historical fact!

. Stimulating French people to start drinking cognac may increase demand for cognac and consequently increases the prices.  French people are traditionally drinking cheap whiskys and with the current state of the economy I doubt that this will change.

. Consumption of wines in France is declining for the past 20 years. There are many reasons for this including the strict ‘do not drink and drive’ rules applied now in France.

SOLUTION: drink mineral water in France from glass bottles: Evian, Vittel, Volvic, Perrier, etc... are still made in France and you will stay sober; and glass bottle production is still a major French industry too. French who want to drink good cognac will have to go abroad.

N.B. Pineau is an outstanding product I need to discuss more often - and I will!

Devoir Civique - Civic Duty