Paris sales?

Question

does anyone know the dates for the huge sales in paris/france in general for 2008? i heard that the government sets them each year so they can only have 2 sales periods per year. much appreciated :)

Answer 1

The reason the dates are set by the government is that shops are not allowed to sell below cost price - in order to avoid "predatory pricing" (driving other stores in an area out of business and then have a monopoly). So sales are allowed as temporary exceptions to this law. The dates vary from region to region.

The dates have not (AFAIK) been set for 2008 yet.

Answer 2

It is true but we have no way of knowing the dates yet. The govt announces it in mid-december only. But it's usually early January.

Actually the Minister recommended January 9, 2008 but prefects in each Département (subdivisions of French regions) are free to choose the exact date around that recommended date.

To answer your next question, no the sales are not as incredible as they are in the US or the UK. I think it is usually between 20% to 50% off on average. Better than nothing though...