Yesterday was Black Friday that date in which great discounts are announced in all stores to take advantage of the fact that Christmas is approaching and people want to buy gifts. And then comes Cyber Monday. But several political organizations advocate a massive boycott against Amazon protesting the destruction of small businesses and how it violates labor rights.
Now to Black Friday in France a new enemy is added: the national assembly. And it goes not only against Amazon, but against all kinds of offers of this type thanks to an amendment.
It begins to not like that there are such big sales
The amendment, which was approved on Tuesday, places Black Friday and Cyber Monday promotional campaigns in the category of " aggressive commercial practices ." In France, these are punishable by up to two years in prison and fines of 300,000 euros.
The amendment states that these discounts are " a commercial practice that contributes to the waste of resources and a consumerism glorification operation imported from the United States that is being used as an excuse to circumvent sales regulations ." It also criticizes the misleading advertising because, in practical terms, prices barely drop by 2% since the base price is increased shortly before the date, only to then apply a supposed discount.
The parliamentary committee has agreed on a series of amendments that must be approved on the 9th. But the process will continue in the French Senate, where it will require approval from a second chamber. If it goes through, the day with the most sales—or so many advertise—will be banned in France for violating price regulations and harming small businesses. It's possible that the law will ultimately be amended, and this doesn't mean there won't be Black Friday or Cyber Monday sales, but rather that they will have to be regulated to prevent unfair competition and ensure fairness, preventing a product from being halved after having its price doubled just moments before, something we already warned about in a previous article.
Source: L'info durable
