The euro has been in the pockets of the French for three months, but the country is still haunted by the franc as many people continue to convert prices into francs, according to French sociologist Danielle Rapoport.
"People convert into francs and speak about francs between each other," she said, explaining that the French have not quite yet shaken off the influence of the franc since the launch of the euro in cash form at the beginning of the year.
"They have few price references in euros, only for a few products such as for bread or the newspaper, but not for the rest, they can't remember the price in euros," she said.
She explained that especially for big amounts people were still thinking in francs while for small sums, people simply do not think about it and just pay up.
As a consequence consumers feel lost, unable to keep track of how much they are spending and much they are earning.
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