Bakers fined for seven day week

FOUR bakers who opened their businesses for seven days a week have received fines of €500, but had them suspended.

The four men, from Saint-Paul-les-Dax and Dax in the Landes were convicted of breaching an arrêté préfectoral from 1999 which imposed a one-day closure on their business.

One other man was acquitted when they appeared before a court in Dax yesterday.

“We are business owners who are ashamed to be in France,” said one of the bakers, Stéphane Moreau.

“We are going to work less, pay less VAT and social charges and, if it’s necessary, we will have to sack people,” he added.

In February, one of France’s top bakers, Stéphane Cazenave, fell foul of the same law after opening his business every day for three and a half years.

A UMP petition to support him received 32,000 signatures and the baker also received support from the former Prime Minister François Fillon.

However the confédération des boulangers has said it continues to support the one-day closure per week.

Government spokesman Stéphane Le Foll said that such laws had been drawn up through discussions and negotiations with professional bodies to find balance and agreement.

Photo:Flickr/Jofo2005