to wonder if we should adopt French style shop opening hours

[agnesf]

I live in a smallish town with a decent selection of shops - greengrocer, butcher, baker, etc. Unfortunately most of them are shut when I and the majority of the working population want to use them (evenings/ Sundays) so I do all my main shopping at the supermarket.

On hols in France I realised how nice it was to wander round a town with all shops open at 6 in evening and busy with people picking things up on their way home from work.

Our local shops seem to be kept going by local OAPs who have nothing to do all day but surely if they changed their opening hours they could catch presumably more lucrative the evening trade.

So much has been talked about how to revitalise the "high street" but I haven't seen anything addressing the issue of shop opening.

My experience of French shopping is of absolutely nothing being open between 12-2, after 7:30pm or on Sundays so no!

yes what Disappointed said !

It wouldn't work around my area, the council had to spend thousands to secure the shopping centre.

Unless with shops opened perhaps the vandalism and criminal damage would not be done.

IME most French people are not swanning around picking up that evening's dinner in the small shops after work. They are piling their trolleys high with garbage in Carrefour just like us ... I notice older people still shopping for fresh produce day-to-day as they did 20 years ago, but in my bit of northern France the supermarkets rule. Even the food market's not really that busy.

It's a nice idea though :)

Argh! Apostrophe trauma (damn autocorrect)

But in our local town nothing is open after 5pm or on Sundays either & the supermarkets are busiest between 5.30 & 7.30 so if our local shops were open between 5.30 and 7.30 they'd be open 12 hours more a week when people want to actually do shopping.

When I go into town on days off the place is really quiet between 2 and 4 so maybe the shops could close then. I guess my point is that by sticking to rigid "traditional" hours they can hardly complain that no one uses them.

in most french small towns and villages shops shut at lunch time on saturday and stay shut until monday, most small supermarkets are shut on sundays too

also most shut at/ just after lunch for a couple of hours in the afternoon

small bistro/ restaurants only serve lunch from about 12-1.30

nearly all of continental europe outside of large towns/ cities shuts down on sunday

I agree people are not going to do all their shopping in local small shops any more but if I knew the smaller shops were going to be open in eves then I'd be more likely to use them. Our town centre is well provided with free parking so once you've parked to pick up something then you'd be more likely to go to other shops. As it is I know its pointless to bother going there after 5pm.

I agree with you. Our village shops close at 1pm on Saturdays, do not open on Sundays and even the cafe closes on Sundays. I really want to support local businesses but most often, they're not open when it's convenient for me to shop. Supermarket or large farm shop gets my business.

I always say if I won the lottery I would open a really nice cafe/ deli/ wine bar type place in the village, and open at times that the majority want to shop. Think I'd make a mint!

Please don't close local shops between 2-4 that is school run time where the shops are the busiest.

I grew up in Asia where in even the small towns, shops were open from 7am- 10pm! These were mainly small shops run as a family business and the shop was their livelihood. It was a complete shock when I came to the uk and found shops closed at 6.

Free parking in all small towns after 3pm is what we need.

Tesco's is hooching with mum's and DCs coming out of school, going to swimming lessons and then people coming home from work.

Getting just a tiny percentage of that trade into town would be great.

Agree nocomet. Free parking in town full stop would encourage far more trade in the high streets. I don't understand why this isn't already being done! Our nearest large town is awful - charity shops and pound shops only, very run down.

Agree nocomet and that's what seems so silly where we live. Our town is blessed with loads of free parking and I spend loads of time hanging around it after school when waiting for DCs to do football practice/ dance lessons/ Brownies etc. But after 5pm the only thing I can do is go to Waitrose or Tescos or the local library. None of the other businesses are open.

Stupid question: but does France have lots of out of town shopping centres so that everyone can drive with corresponding dying city centres? And does it have lots of national chains, British style, so that the High street is dominated by the same names wherever you go?

I love our local city shopping centre. Vibrant and like a fantastic outdoor mall. But that geography is fading, because people want to drive everywhere. The style of living where you also shop & work has declined enormously; people just want to use their cars & drive long ways instead. :(

My impression on the continent is that they still have LOADS of small independent shops, & relatively few national chains. Goods cost more as a result, but this is made up for by providing quality & service. They do NOT have high streets dominated by charity shops.

(I was trying but failing to explain retain & social geography to DC, yesterday).

*retail not retain...

but does France have lots of out of town shopping centres so that everyone can drive with corresponding dying city centres? And does it have lots of national chains, British style, so that the High street is dominated by the same names wherever you go?

I live in Paris, and it definitely isn't like that at all, here at least. I don't think it's like that in the smaller cities either. My friends who live in the tiniest hameau ever, have a sort of commercial centre slightly out of the main ville, but I don't think it kills off the centre in the same way.

In Paris, the supermarkets are open all day Saturday and Sunday mornings. There are no really big grandes surfaces in Paris intramuros.
And smaller shops are well supported, boulangeries especially. Though also boucheries and traiteurs. And the markets.
But the whole approach to food and eating is different here, I think.

You would hate to live in Germany - shop opening hours are like Britain in the 70s. My German in-laws couldn't believe it when we mentioned gong to the supermarket on a Sunday!

Yes I agree, not sure about French hours but certainly Spanish ones, people wandering round at night, mooching in and out of shops....you can do stuff, I hate sunday hours.

I hate being forced to do anything decent on Saturday and then panicking on sunday because everything closes at 4.

Its not even a question of actually shopping for clothes or items, but when shops are open and people are coming in and out and mooching round there is more atmosphere and buzz. Than a totally dead and closed shopping street at 4pm. .

I think its bonkers and I think they should open when they like.

My mom was raised in Asia too. I love the "wet" market that opens til after office hours as well. At least you can still pick up something fresh take home and cook it properly.

I really wouldn't mind if the British grocers or butchers open til late just for quick pick ups. That would be wonderful. The only down side is, I am not sure if all the produce are that good any more. Even if they do open those hours. I really miss the good old organic items that we used to get when I was a child here. Sigh. I just couldn't in my generation, the standard has dropped so much. "Organic" used to be the norm when I was growing up. There were less intensive farming, and pesticides used. Oh, I also live in Yorkshire as well, and we can't even get the local produce here without paying an arm and a leg.

Agree with poster upthread who described Spain. I lived for a year in another Eurpoean country where the situation was similar (not France). The evening in town was busy and I guess that's what I was trying to capture in my opening post. I wouldn't miss Sunday opening much either.

What Maisie says about food not being the quality that it used to be - well its all relative. I think we've got used to food being mass produced and cheap but in the past it was more expensive but maybe more organic. Not sure if we want to go back to those days though - I remember my dad telling me that as a child chicken was a luxury that few could afford.