Paris shops’ sales halved as transport strikes cripple city
- France hit by nationwide strikes against government plans to overhaul the pension system
- Many retail shops, cafes and hotels have reported a sharp drop in business during the crunch holiday period
Five weeks into strikes crippling French transport, Emile Sebbag is agonising over how to keep afloat his two Parisian clothing stores, deserted by shoppers as the backlash against France’s pension reform drags on.
The start of winter sales this week – traditionally a big event for French retailers – was unlikely to make up for a dismal Christmas period, when he took home half of what he’d projected, Sebbag said, echoing growing alarm among retailers as travellers face more chaos this month.
“It’s been hell since December,” Sebbag said. One of his stores, where he sells jeans, hoodies and handbags by mid-price brands like Guess and Replay, is particularly dependent on commuters in the basement of Paris’ Les Halles shopping centre, which is built around a major local train and metro terminal.
“It’s killing us. I have to pay rent. We risk going bust,” he said.
Paris shops’ sales were down 30-50 per cent or more in the December holiday period, when many earn a large share of their annual income, according to the French Federation of small retailers.
