Cartes bancaires ready: Black Friday hits France

Previously just an American consumerist extravaganza - with huge savings timed to coincide with the US festival of Thanksgiving - the phenomenon has spread across the Atlantic to Europe, and France is no exception, as explained by online consumer site Radins today.

This year, French stores are fighting back against international and online retailers - such as Amazon, or even CostCo, the American low-cost store that opened its first outlet in France in Paris this year - with a host of Black Friday offers and deals.

Fnac and Darty - the French-based electronic brands - have been some of the first to kick off the event in the country, and have announced that from Thursday November 23, over 40,000 products will be on sale.

French clothes brand La Redoute has also announced that it will have week-long Black Friday promotions on its website, while cosmetic companies Sephora and Nocibé have already cut prices for the event, having begun on November 17, continuing until November 24.

Similarly, French hypermarché brand Carrefour will be offering up to 70% in-store, and on the RueDuCommerce website, which will account for hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of products at reduced price.

It is thought that shoppers will take advantage of the sales to stock up on Christmas presents and other Christmas items early; although consumers are reminded that one of the hallmarks of Black Friday is competitiveness between stores, with many products on sale that appear to be good value potentially available even cheaper elsewhere...