France's sales regulations seem similar to how our local governments regulate garage sales, which many depend on for clothes, household goods, and a pastime in good weather.
The little town in Wisconsin where my grandparents are from had sidewalk sales that coincided with Federal holidays, including "Founder's Day." I wonder why our winter sales in the U.S. are associated with "President's Day" and aren't regulated but expected.
I'll never travel outside the U.S., so I appreciate your expanding my worldview. My son wants to travel to Europe for a couple of years after he retires. I told him he should try to be there when he needs a joint replacement or has an illness. He laughed, so I apparently fulfilled my duty to teach them about universal healthcare. He took his immediate family to Norway a few years ago, where my great-great grandparents are from. He saved for years for that vacation and took hundreds of photos. Take care.
On thing I didn't mention is the ubiquitous "Black Friday" sales, which seem to have caught on in multiple European countries. I expect that, to remain within the regulations, most merchants make use of the two weeks they're granted for extra sales periods during this time.
True that hospital stays and surgeries can cost much less here even paying "full price." A former colleague had a bike accident in France, fracturing his skull and requiring cranial surgery and two-week hospital stay. He paid out of pocket; I forget the amount but he said when he spoke to his American insurance company about it they couldn't believe how small it was, and reimbursed him 100 percent right away.
I spend a lot of time in Bergen toward the end of my working life--it's a lovely place. Other than a single trip to Oslo, I've not spent much time there otherwise.It sounds like your son really enjoyed it.
I was fairly familiar with this, but I have definitely noticed a big increase in "promotions" since I first moved here -- it has no doubt become necessary to try and compete with the Internet. I'm not sure all merchants respect the rules about them to the letter.
I tend to agree about the non-conformity, and a few shops seem to have perpetual sales (some post signs with big red letters that say "SALE"). I also have to wonder about enforcement ...
I personally would lean to the anti-regulations side on this issue, especially since I am concerned with the future of physical shops in France. I think it all worked out fine in a pre-globalized and especially pre-Internet world, but we are no longer in that world.
That does seem like a lot of rules! And I live in Sweden, where you’re only allowed to say this on Tuesday between 10:30 and noon.
France's sales regulations seem similar to how our local governments regulate garage sales, which many depend on for clothes, household goods, and a pastime in good weather.
The little town in Wisconsin where my grandparents are from had sidewalk sales that coincided with Federal holidays, including "Founder's Day." I wonder why our winter sales in the U.S. are associated with "President's Day" and aren't regulated but expected.
I'll never travel outside the U.S., so I appreciate your expanding my worldview. My son wants to travel to Europe for a couple of years after he retires. I told him he should try to be there when he needs a joint replacement or has an illness. He laughed, so I apparently fulfilled my duty to teach them about universal healthcare. He took his immediate family to Norway a few years ago, where my great-great grandparents are from. He saved for years for that vacation and took hundreds of photos. Take care.
On thing I didn't mention is the ubiquitous "Black Friday" sales, which seem to have caught on in multiple European countries. I expect that, to remain within the regulations, most merchants make use of the two weeks they're granted for extra sales periods during this time.
True that hospital stays and surgeries can cost much less here even paying "full price." A former colleague had a bike accident in France, fracturing his skull and requiring cranial surgery and two-week hospital stay. He paid out of pocket; I forget the amount but he said when he spoke to his American insurance company about it they couldn't believe how small it was, and reimbursed him 100 percent right away.
I spend a lot of time in Bergen toward the end of my working life--it's a lovely place. Other than a single trip to Oslo, I've not spent much time there otherwise.It sounds like your son really enjoyed it.
I was fairly familiar with this, but I have definitely noticed a big increase in "promotions" since I first moved here -- it has no doubt become necessary to try and compete with the Internet. I'm not sure all merchants respect the rules about them to the letter.
I tend to agree about the non-conformity, and a few shops seem to have perpetual sales (some post signs with big red letters that say "SALE"). I also have to wonder about enforcement ...
I personally would lean to the anti-regulations side on this issue, especially since I am concerned with the future of physical shops in France. I think it all worked out fine in a pre-globalized and especially pre-Internet world, but we are no longer in that world.