New Sunday store-opening zones come into effect in Paris on August 25

By

Matthieu Guinebault

Translated by
Nicola Mira

Published
Aug 24, 2018

On Saturday August 25, a redesigned set of Zones Touristiques Internationales (International tourist zones, ITZ), where stores are allowed to open on Sundays, will come into effect in Paris. The new map has been drawn up by France’s Economy and Finance Ministry after the Paris court rejected three ITZs earlier in the year. A new ITZ is also being created in the city’s Odéon Saint-Michel district.

As reported by FashionNetwork.com in mid-July, the Economy and Finance Ministry intends to sidestep the court rulings, by adjusting the boundaries of the existing ITZs. The Maillot-Ternes ITZ has disappeared, having been split in two. Its Ternes section is now attached to the Champs Elysées-Montaigne ITZ, while the Maillot area has become the Palais des Congrès ITZ, its claim to attracting international tourism justified by the presence of the Jardin d’Acclimatation and the Vuitton Foundation.

As for the Cour Saint-Emilion Bercy ITZ, it will not function any longer as an ITZ, but simply as a ‘tourist zone’ comprising the AccorHotels Arena and the Cinématèque, the French film archives. For the local retailers, this means they will be allowed to open on Sundays but not on weekday evenings, while food shops will be allowed a week-end opening on Saturday and Sunday morning only.

The Olympiade ITZ, which was suppressed in February, will not be reinstated, since local retailers made very limited use of the Sunday opening opportunity. Only the Italie Deux shopping mall will now be able to open on Sundays, benefiting from a dispensation by the local authorities.

A new ITZ may instead be created in the Odéon Saint-Michel district, as indicated by Delphine Gény-Stephann, Secretary of State at the Economy and Finance Ministry. She met store owners and retailers from the area in question on July 19, underlining the neighbourhood’s appeal for tourists.