{"id":21377,"date":"2014-12-01T06:00:02","date_gmt":"2014-12-01T05:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/?p=21377"},"modified":"2017-10-23T13:41:57","modified_gmt":"2017-10-23T11:41:57","slug":"5-things-you-need-to-know-about-shopping-in-france","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/5-things-you-need-to-know-about-shopping-in-france\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Things you Need to Know About Shopping in France"},"content":{"rendered":"

In honor of this Cyber Monday and recent Black Friday, here are some important facts and terms to make your shopping trip in France easy and stress-free.<\/p>\n

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  1. \u00a0Unlike in the United States, sales in France are state-run. That means that companies don\u2019t regulate their own storewide sales to get rid of old inventory before the new shipments come in, but that each store must follow a state-run schedule. There are two of these sale periods in France \u2013 called la periode des soldes<\/strong> — that run once in mid-summer and once before the winter holidays. These sales normally last five to six weeks each and only get better as the weeks go on. Sometimes you can find 70-80% discounts on nice items in the last week or so of les soldes.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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    1. In general, shops do not <\/em>open on Sundays, although there have been some recent changes to this traditional French law. However, shops are allowed to open on Sundays during the Christmas holidays and some supermarkets, or supermarch\u00e9s <\/strong>are allowed to open on Sunday mornings so that people can buy needed food items. In 2009, a controversial bill passed the French parliament stating that shops located in main tourist areas in large French cities were allowed to stay open on Sundays.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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      1. While there are almost no stores that are open 24\/7 even in Paris (and unlike in New York) there are always 24-hour pharmacies open in large French towns. These pharmacies are called pharmacies de garde <\/strong>and will show that they are open by the traditional lit green cross. Unlike in the United States, you cannot buy any medicine (whether Tylenol, called paracetamol <\/strong>or doliprane<\/strong>, or prescribed antibiotics) outside of the pharmacy. Pharmacists are well-trained and even have a large selection of homeopathic medicines available for only several Euros each.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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        1. One of the best ways to shop in France is in the traditional markets. Each village and district usually hosts at least one market, or march\u00e9<\/strong>, per week where you can buy fresh fruits and vegetables, meats and fish, and even prepared food, toys, and clothes. These markets run throughout the year and savvy French consumers will buy all their produce and fresh meats, cheeses, and fish there for the whole week, because it is so cheap. There are also covered markets, or les march\u00e9s couverts<\/strong>, which take place in permanent structures dedicated to market trade. These are also called les halles <\/strong>and, in Paris, the section called Les Halles <\/strong>is the central market place in the capital that traditionally dates from about 1183 AD.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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          1. Of course, you can\u2019t shop effectively in France without knowing some important vocabulary. Here are some terms you will likely need to know during your shopping trip:<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n