PARIS — Faubourg Saint-Honoré will not be ready for Sunday trading before April 1, 2016.
Paris’s high-end shopping will need the time to put in place a new organization, recruit and train personnel, stated the Comité du Faubourg Saint-Honoré — which represents 120 luxury brands and hotels trading in the area — in a press release on Friday.
The announcement follows the French government’s definite outline of a total of 12 so-called international tourist zones that will be allowed to remain open on Sundays and in the evenings, under the new Macron law, named after French Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron.
The 12 zones in question are: Saint-Honoré-Vendome, Les Halles, Marais, Saint-Germain, Rennes-St. Sulpice, Beaugrenelle, Montmartre, Maillot-Ternes, Champs-Elysées-Montaigne, Saint-Emilion-Bibliothèque, Olympiades and Haussmann, which houses the city’s two largest department stores, Printemps and Galeries Lafayette.
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The Comité du Faubourg Saint-Honoré said 90 percent of its 120 members are in favor of keeping their stores open on Sundays from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m.
“At a time when consumption habits have evolved considerably, most notably with the possibility to make purchases at any hour on the Internet, it has indeed become anachronistic to not be able to consume in the capital on a Sunday. Le Faubourg Saint-Honoré will be able to serve a great number of tourists, mostly of foreign origin, who stay in the majority of luxury hotels situated in the heart of Faubourg,” the committee, which includes brands such as Chanel, Hermès, Prada and Saint Laurent, noted.
A spokeswoman for the Comité told WWD that the remaining 10 percent are independent boutiques which are too small to keep trading seven days a week, although it’s possible that they might choose to implement the necessary measures to do so in the future.
The French Ministry of Economy said those businesses wishing to open on Sundays and in the evening will have to reach an agreement with their employees and/or their unions, including financial compensation and childcare.
For stores with fewer than 11 employees, a majority vote will be needed.
The government said it also plans to install a watchdog monitoring Sunday trading, including its cost for the city as well as its impacts on small businesses and employment.
An outline for the international tourist zones in the cities of Nice, Cannes and Deauville is expected for the coming days.