Guardian News & Media  IT IS as far from the charming ideal of
French farmers' markets and small family-owned shops as you
could imagine: strip lights glare down on a narrow range of
products in ugly packaging, displayed in cardboard boxes piled
on the floor and on low shelves. But sales are booming at the
new Lidl discount supermarket in south-west Paris. Previously,
the German chain stuck to the suburbs, where poorer folk live,
says Fatouh Mourad, the store's manager. But rising food prices
and widespread concern about “pouvoir d'achat”, or purchasing
power, in France, has given Lidl the confidence to push inside
the city's limits.  As economic prospects worsen across Europe,
discounters such as Lidl—and Aldi, another German chain—are
taking market share. They generally charge some 30-50% less for
groceries than ordinary supermarkets. In France, according to
TNS, a research firm, discounters increased their market share
to 11.2% in the second quarter of this year, up from 10.5% a
year ago, whereas the share