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Errr

FRANCE
VAT 19.6%

ITALY
VAT 20%


GERMANY
VAT 19%


You don't think that's strange ;)

What is strange is people smugly winking when they are wrong. Now technically I didn't phrase my earlier response to 100% accuracy and used "VAT" as a synonym for all taxes, so slap my wrist. But the spirit of my answer was 100% correct, that the price disparity is due to government levies.

Here is the above link translated in english.
 
Fairdos didn't know about German levy which like you say is not the same thing as VAT as you first indicated ;)
 
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