"Continental Sunday" under threat

One of the nice things about France is the way that shops, most supermarkets and even DIY stores shut on Sunday. It means that the towns and cities are peaceful places one day a week and that retail workers can spend time with their families. It also means that attending church does not normally imply conflict with work.

But M. Sarkozy is so like Mrs Thatcher. At present Sunday trading is being debated. France is (paradoxically) more conservative than Britain and I would be more surprised to see this passed in France than I was in Britain.

Comments

RyanO'NeilSeaton said…
Dear Pastor Alan,

I wish Mr. Sarkozy the best and hope they free up sundays for the sake of those who don't mind while still protecting their right not to work on Sundays.

Where does it say in the Bible that working on Sunday is a sin ?
6:28 am
Alan said…
Please don't shout.

Retail workers are amongst the lowest paid and the least "empowered" in our society in western Europe and it's not easy to protect their right not to work on Sunday.

In the UK (where I was a chaplain in a supermarket) workers come under pressure to work whether they want to or not for fear of losing their jobs. Family life suffers because mam and dad never see each other, etc.

Not only that but the supermarkets make no more profit from opening 7 days a week than they did before, which is predictable.

We are shopping mad. I lived in a post-industrial town which was within a short drive of some of the most beautiful scenery in Britain. Supermarket staff would tell me of people who would drive from their gorgeous seaside towns on sunny Sunday afternoons to spend their time in our retail shed.

We're NUTS.

We've all gone stark stare raving mad over shopping.

Oops - now I am shouting ! Sorry :)
9:13 am
Alan said…
M. Sarkozy said "Is it normal that I should have to make a phone call to get the shops to open so that Obama and his wife can go shopping on a Sunday ?"

No. Of course not.

This was PARIS ! Mr and Mrs Obama should SIGHTSEE and spend a happy hour in some Paris café, not waste their time looking at the same stuff you can get in Maceys anyway.
12:32 pm
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