Final days to take advantage of France’s summer sales
The original dates were extended following record heatwave
France's summer sales period is coming to an end this Tuesday (July 28) following its exceptional extension after record summer heatwaves kept shoppers during the opening fortnight.
The original closing date was scheduled for last week, but with the extension the period has now lasted five weeks instead of the usual four.
The extension does not apply everywhere: territories that follow a separate sales calendar, such as Corsica and France's overseas departments, are unaffected and keep to their original dates, as set out in Connexion's earlier guide to the summer sales.
Why were the dates changed?
The soldes d'été were originally due to run for the standard four weeks, from Wednesday, June 24 to Tuesday, July 21.
However, the sales opened right in the middle of a severe and prolonged heatwave, with temperatures regularly topping 40C in parts of the country.
Town centre shops - particularly smaller, independent retailers without air conditioning - reported reduced footfall, with some outlets recording turnover down by as much as 30% compared to a normal start to the sales.
Faced with mounting pressure from retail federations and shopkeepers, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu announced that the government would step in. The Minister for Commerce, Serge Papin, confirmed that the sales would be extended by one week to allow shops to recoup lost trade.
Mr Papin explained that the heatwave meant many shops simply were not visited during the first stretch of the sales, so the government had decided to give retailers extra time to make up for it. A modifying decree was published in the Journal Officiel to give the extension immediate legal effect.
Do the usual sales rules still apply?
Yes. The extension only changes the closing date, the rules governing how retailers can run the sales remain exactly as before. Retailers must still follow strict conditions, including:
Items can only be discounted if they have already been in stock and on sale for at least a month beforehand, to stop shops ordering in goods specially for the sales.
Sale and non-sale items must be clearly distinguished for customers, whether through labelling or how they are displayed.
Shops cannot inflate a price shortly before the sales just to make a later discount look bigger than it is.
Retailers must be able to justify their reference price: either the lowest price they actually charged beforehand, or the price recommended by their supplier.
Advertising for the sales must state the start date and, where not all stock is discounted, which products are included: breaches can bring a fine of up to €1,500.
For more information on returns policies for items bought during a sale, read our article here.
