France to Remove Shopping Ban on Sundays

Summary: A fierce resistance by the French people against shopping on Sundays will now be down the drain as the government sets its eyes on the approval of a law that would allow shopping malls and other shops to operate on Sundays.

The French Senate is set to approve next week a new law that would allow department stores, shopping malls, and other shops in some 20 zones in the country to operate on Sundays, overturning the 1906 law forbidding trade during the sad day.

The bill, which was proposed by President Nicolas Sarkozy, has been under tight watch of the conservative public.

Sarkozy have been pushing for the enactment of the law since he became the president.

The French, citing the 1906 law, resisted the said bill as it would set aside Sundays as an official rest day of the people. It has been like that in France for more than a century and conservatives expressed fear that the proposed law would cause major cultural turnaround.

Leftist and rightist groups also fear the 35-hour a week working day would be touched by the law affecting the norm that the people has been accustomed to.

Socialist also feared that the Law would allow company owners and executives to force their employees on working even on Sundays.

Despite potential economic activity, several members of the ruling party joined the protest, saying that Sundays are dedicated for church.

If enacted, the Law would allow commerce in some 20 zones called exceptional commercial centers near Marseilles, Paris, and Lille.