France’s lower house of parliament approved a law on Saturday letting shops open more often on Sundays, the latest measure in the government’s pro-growth bill intended to lift the sluggish economy.
The bill would let shops open up to 12 Sundays per year from five currently, provided mayors allow it, workers agree to work voluntarily and are paid double their usual salary.
The bill also provides for the creation of special “tourist zones,” to be defined by the government, where shops would be allowed to stay open until midnight and on Sundays. Sunday shopping would also be allowed in large train stations.
Left-wing members of the Socialist Party, which led the fight against the law in parliament, failed to gather enough support to block it.
Sunday shopping was already allowed in some cases — for example, bakers, cafes or restaurants — or in tourist areas, such as the historical Le Marais district in Paris or the Avenue des Champs-Elysees.
Big department stores, such as the Galeries Lafayette and Printemps, said the present rules were too restrictive and have demanded an overhaul for years, saying more trading hours would enable them to create jobs and fight competition from non-stop Internet retailers.
However, it is a hot-potato issue in France, and one that has led to protests and trials, with unions saying it hurts workers’ rights and small shopkeepers worrying that they would not be able to compete against the major chains.
Government officials hope the legislation will unleash new sources of growth, but are not putting a precise figure on its impact.
Nonetheless, they hope it will convince EU partners that France is serious about overhauling its hidebound economy.
The law is now expected to go through the French Senate, the upper house of parliament which cannot block legislation, where it would be reviewed in April.
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”
Sales in the retail, and food and beverage sectors last month continued to rise, increasing 0.7 percent and 13.6 percent respectively from a year earlier, setting record highs for the month of March, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Sales in the wholesale sector also grew last month by 4.6 annually, mainly due to the business opportunities for emerging applications related to artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing technologies, the ministry said in a report. The ministry forecast that retail, and food and beverage sales this month would retain their growth momentum as the former would benefit from Tomb Sweeping Day
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