Paris bar slammed for charging 50c for lemon slice

One user, Nora Hamadi, tweeted a photo of her receipt in disbelief after realising she had been charged an extra €0.50 per slice of lemon in each of her Perrier drinks.

Ms Hamadi ordered five Perrier sparkling waters at Le Bistrot de la Tour, on Boulevard de Grenelle, just 400 metres from the Eiffel Tower, and found that she had been charged €2.50 in total for five slices of lemon garnish.

She called it “daylight robbery”.

Charging this much for a single slice of lemon means that establishments would be able to sell a lemon for around ten times’ the original cost of the fruit, news network FranceInfo calculated - based on an estimated price of €2 per kilo for fresh lemons.

Yet, while the practice has been criticised, it has been perfectly legal since 1986 - although businesses must display the price and make the extra charges clear.

One tourist, speaking to FranceInfo, said: “The closer you get to the Eiffel Tower [in Paris], the higher prices rise.”