Overview

• Paired experiments at a café near the Champ-de-Mars found a Parisian customer paid €6.50 for a small Coke and received free tap water while a reporter posing as an American tourist was billed €9.50 for a larger Coke and €6 for bottled water.
• When the “tourist” agreed to add a 10% tip via the card terminal, the waiter covertly increased the gratuity to 15% without notifying the customer.
• An undercover sommelier’s visits revealed cafés sometimes served cheaper wines than ordered but charged tourists the higher menu price.
• Waitstaff and industry experts say President Macron’s 2022 tax exemption on card-based tips and terminal prompts for gratuities have encouraged extra surcharges on foreign patrons.
• Umbrella group GHR and consumer advocates are urging authorities to enforce free tap water provisions and uphold tipping as a voluntary gesture.