It's like the tariff that thrives on tourism in southern Gran Canaria. In Martinique, filling the supermarket cart has become a luxury. According to the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (Insee), food prices on the island are 40% higher than in mainland France. This figure epitomizes a structural problem that goes beyond purchasing power: it reflects an ultraperipheral economic model where the cost of living rises faster than wages. In the Canary Islands, the official version says no, that it has no impact in southern Gran Canaria.
The French debate is echoing across the Atlantic. In the Canary Islands, where a similar model—the AIEM—is in place, industrialists and authorities defend the system as a guarantee of local production, while critics warn that it favors already relocated business groups. Brussels, through the Directorate-General for the Internal Market (DG GROW), has asked Spain for explanations in light of the growing social unrest and rising Euroscepticism on the islands.
In both Martinique and the Canary Islands, the dilemma is the same: how to balance economic protection with consumers' right to pay fair prices. In the French Caribbean, the answer is measured in euros and patience. "Here, a supermarket isn't just a place where you shop," summarizes a Fort-de-France resident. "It's where you feel the value of living far from France."
The report, published in July 2023, notes that overall consumer prices in Martinique are 14% higher than in the rest of the world, a gap that has continued to widen since 2010. For basic products, the gap is abysmal: meat, dairy products, and fruit are the most affected by additional costs stemming from transportation, dependence on imports, and local tariffs—the octroi de mer, equivalent to the Canary Islands' AIEM. "The system is designed to support local finances, but it ends up punishing consumers," explains Maurice Bilionière, an economist at Insee and co-author of the study with Zinaïda Salibekyan-Rosain.
The price of insularity
Martinicans spend 14% of their household budget on food, compared to 15% in mainland France, yet they pay much more for the same products. Import duties—which can reach 15% of the entry cost for some items such as soft drinks—and limited local production amplify the differences: only 17% of the meat consumed on the island is produced there. In addition to food, other sectors with skyrocketing prices are also present: telecommunications (up 37%), leisure and culture (up 14%), and healthcare (up 13%). In contrast, transportation spending is 5% lower, thanks to lower fuel costs and shorter distances traveled by households. The National Institute of Statistics and Census (INSEE) warns that the price gap between Martinique and the mainland has widened four percentage points since 2010, driven by inflation in imported foods and a consumption pattern that is difficult to adapt to local prices.
A tax system under review
The octroi de mer, a tax inherited from the Ancien Régime and reformed in 2022, represents up to 80% of municipal revenues in territories such as Mayotte and more than 40% in Martinique. Its official function is to protect local production from foreign competition, but the results are mixed. Only a few sectors—such as dairy products, with 64% of local production—have managed to maintain a degree of autonomy. Social pressure and youth unrest in France's overseas departments have led the Paris government to consider a review of the system, which could include deductions equivalent to VAT and sectoral exemptions for the catering and opticians industries. "We cannot speak of republican equality when a liter of milk costs almost twice as much in Fort-de-France as in Marseille," laments Nadia Damardji, a consultant at Action Publique Conseil.
