This manifests itself regularly in the advertising circulars we get. At the end of September we had ads from all the big supermarket chains promoting their competing wine weeks, where they offer special promotions on newly released wines. The local newspaper had a number of articles discussing how best to take advantage of these sales, strategies for shopping, and independent evaluations of some of the wines. I bought two cases of organic Corbieres, the organic Muscadet having been sold out before I got there. We did not participate in the store's fat fair, but did purchase a smoked duck breast, some rillettes and a couple just-bottled fifths of Gaillac wine of at a village market.
Food also follows the tastes of the consumer.
One supermarket is near the suburb that serves as the Anglo-American colony for people in the aerospace industry centered around Airbus, which is based in Toulouse. It's a huge store, with something like 40 check-out aisles, offering everything from clothing to meat, and so large that many of the clerks wear roller skates. The bakery section is proportionately vast. On a more positive cultural note, September brought a piano festival, and October finds us in the middle of organ festival, with some 20 concerts over 10 days. The performances are wonderful.