gnarly

I know that very few shops are (normally) open in France on Sundays. There are a few areas that have special dispensations, and similarly there are times of the year when more places open up.

Since we are approaching the Christmas season (although I wish we weren't), I assume that we will start to see Sunday opening at some of the Commercial Zones, Supermarkets etc.

Does anyone know when the Holiday period rules come into play?

Thanks

imagineertobe

It's up to local authorities to decide whether to allow stores to open the three Sundays before Christmas, but I would say that in the larger cities you'll be sure to see such openings approved.

gnarly

So it'll be worth channel hopping from Sunday 4th December onwards.
Thank you.

menton1

My vote is for NEVER having Sunday openings in France. In the US and the UK Sunday is indistinguishable from any other weekday, but in France it is dramatically different. It's a family day. 80% less car traffic. A relief from the frenzy of modern-day pace. Please, please, France, keep Sunday closings!

imagineertobe

Stores are generally closed on Sundays, but for (at least) the past several years, the three Sundays before Christmas have been shopping days in France. I agree it's nice to have the lull in the city at the end of the weekend, but this seems to be an established practice.

I haven't heard much (that's actionable) about extending this to the rest of the year - have you?

Alsacienne

In Alsace there is no Sunday opening. However some of the shops local to me are open on 27 November, 11 December and 18 December ... during the afternoons - guaranteed hell for parkers, drivers and shoppers.

nrr

I checked IKEA's internet site and several of the suburban Paris stores are normally open on Sunday.

PS: In Switzerland where virtually all shops (even food stores) are closed on Sunday, in the Railcity shops in Zurich, Luzern, Bern and a few others, the shops are open 365 days a year (this includes Christmas, Easter and other major holidays). [In Railcity they sell everything: clothing, electronics, cd's, dvd's etc.--not just the fast food stuff one would purchase before boarding a train.]

MarLim

Yesterday, about 90% of the shops at Champs-Elysée were open.

gnarly

The reason for my question is that I travel to (and through) France quite often...it's within spitting distance. On a clear day I can see France from the end of my garden (if I'm on a ladder!). I can pick up French terrestrial TV and radio. Our house is 1km due north of the Channel Tunnel portal.

As such, we make the most of our location by travelling through the tunnel every other weekend, and although we enjoy shopping in France, we don't tend to stay there. More often we want to stay in Germany or Belgium for Saturday night, but it would be great to be able to travel back on a Sunday afternoon and pop into Carrefour, Auchan or LeClerc to top up on Boudains etc.

It looks like we can do both in the next few weeks: Christmas market in Germany followed by groceries in Coquelles.
Bliss.

nrr

In NYC/NYS before the court of appeals "nullified" the Sunday blue laws, stores would routinely (especially in the NYC midtown area) stay open and pay a fine (=a tax to do business). Do the Paris police have a similar arrangement with the the stores that stay open on Sunday (except for the 3 Sundays before Christmas)?

imagineertobe

The Champs-Élysées is one of a few hundred designated tourist zones (along with the Marais, Mont St. Michel, many beach areas, etc.) that can open on Sundays throughout the year without penalty.

As with New York, merchants do open on Sundays and pay the fine and overtime to their workers if they feel the business will be good enough to justify the additional expense.

gnarly

Can you point me to a link showing all of these locations. Perhaps I can find an authorised area somewhere along my route.
Thanks.

imagineertobe

These are controlled by the préfets des départements (heads of counties) so there's no central place to find this list. Here's the map of Paris, however:

http://www.paris.fr/viewmultimediado...d=79293&role=2

Also, two shopping centers near Paris that are open on Sunday:

http://www.thiaisvillage.com/
http://www.les4temps.com/

lalala

I have a similar question - really focused on the grand epicerie and gourmet Lafayette for Sunday dec. 4th. I have limited time and would love to pick up comestibles on Sunday rather than go on Monday. The Bon marche website has no mention of any exceptional openings. I hope they update soon.