"We always go on holiday but we try to limit costs with tips: we go outside the holiday period, we set budgets that we try to respect," said Jérôme Capot, 26, in a relationship, without children.

Axel Hermant, a 32-year-old from Le Havre, "goes on holiday less often" with his wife and son. "Before, we went a lot to England, this year we will not go," he says, "the only place we go is on the coast, in the south, because we have a family home so no housing to pay."

"There is a very strong desire for holidays and the French are trying to preserve their holiday budget as much as possible. They sanctify it by making sacrifices on other items such as clothing, food or automobile," Didier Arino, director general of the Protourisme firm, told AFP.

According to a Europe Assistance barometer, three out of four French people will travel this summer but "with a budget under surveillance". 26% want to spend their holidays with friends or family (compared to 21% of Europeans).

The site for renting accommodation between individuals Abritel notes a 25% increase compared to last year in searches on the North-West coast, from Pas-de-Calais to Loire Atlantique.

The Gare de Lyon in Paris, during the crossover of the summer holidays on July 29, 2022 © Bertrand GUAY / AFP

"Staying with your family on the coasts of the Channel makes it possible to find accommodation that is often cheaper and, for the inhabitants of the northern half of the country, more easily accessible to save on the cost of transport," notes Xavier Rousselou, spokesman for Abritel.

These are also destinations that suffered less from the heat last year.

- "Carpe diem"-

Of the 25 million French who will leave in July and August in a rental, six million "have a budget down," says Didier Arino.

"Those who have to make trade-offs leave either for a shorter period of time or less far away or are still looking for the right plan, for promotion," says the tourism specialist.

This is the case of Alice who did not wish to give her last name, teacher and mother of two teenage girls.

"We do not yet know where we will go while usually it is already fixed, we take longer to make the decision because we hesitate," she told AFP. "We pay attention to what we do and try to balance with other expenses, especially food," she adds.

Holidaymakers in the Lavezzi Islands, near Bonifacio in Corsica, July 10, 2022 © Pascal POCHARD-CASABIANCA / AFP/Archives

Jérôme Mercier, CEO of camping.com, notes that "the budget filter" of its booking site "is twice as used this year". "Customers do not choose to lower their standards but are ready to reduce their period of stay," he told AFP.

"Bookings for a duration of more than a week are down 15%," he notes, and "French customers have reduced their journey by 50 km on average".

Tourism professionals are also noticing an increase in bookings for early July and the last week of August, periods when rates are lower than other weeks.

For trips outside France, the Union of Tour Operating Companies (Seto) noted in May bookings up 35.6% with Greece, the Balearic Islands and Tunisia as favorite destinations.

"We have never had so many people tell us that if they work, it is to be able to go on holiday," says Didier Arino.

"I have never seen such strong elements, a form of +Carpe Diem, we do not know what tomorrow will be made of +", he adds. "There is a lot of anxiety among the French and it's a bit +let's enjoy it while there is still time+".

© 2023 AFP