Paris Sunday trade plans are extended

SUNDAY trading is to be introduced in more parts of Paris than initially planned, with the creation of 12 zones where shops will be able to open seven days a week and until midnight.

The French economy ministry has outlined a dozen "international tourist zones" in the capital - up from the previous eight, with the newest additions being Beaugrenelle shopping centre in the 15th arrondissement, Porte Maillot-Avenue de Ternes, the Cour-Saint-Emilion/Bibliothèque Nationale in the 12th/13th arrondissements, and the area around Olympiades and China Town in the 13th.

The newly defined zones include all the usual tourist haunts, including Montmartre, the Champs-Elysées/Avenue Montaigne, Les Halles, Saint Germain, La Madeleine, Louvre/Opéra, Saint Honoré/Vendôme and Le Marais/Place de la République.

All of Paris's main railway stations are also covered under the new plan, and every Fnac store in Paris will open on Sundays, as will the major department stores Printemps, Galéries Lafayette and BHV, which are all located within one of the zones.

The new maps have been put out to consultation this week among trade bodies and unions, some of whom have opposed what they see as a step towards more relaxed Sunday trading rules elsewhere. They also question whether shopping centres such as Beaugrenelle and the Place d'Italie count as tourist zones.

Economy minister Emmanuel Macron says the zones add up to just 6% of the total surface area of the French capital. Sunday shopping zones in Deauville, Nice and Cannes have also been confirmed.

One retail federation says 3,000 shops fall within the Paris zones - and that Sunday trading could create 8,000 additional jobs.