KSS welcomes Parisian rejection of a ‘world where consumerism reigns supreme’
08-Jun-2010
Major Parisian stores such as the Galeries Lafayette and Printemps have for some time been trying to break with the current practice that allows stores that are outside of the designated tourist areas to open on only five Sundays of the year.
Paris mayor Bertrand Delanoë said Sunday opening was unnecessary and undesirable and made this passionate plea to the council: “ Do you want a world where consumerism reigns supreme? Or a world that allows for silence, intimacy, culture, privacy, family life as well as intellectual and spiritual life? ”
Delanoë argued that a metropolis like Paris needs “time to breathe” and that most retail workers are women who need a day off to spend with their children.
In France, restrictions on Sunday trading have been in place since a law of 1906 although bakeries, butchers and other small shops are allowed to open until noon.
Keeping retail businesses closed has helped cement the tradition of the Sunday family meal that many in France still hold dear.
Click here for the article in the media.
Back