UPDATE – June 2014
If you are arriving late on a Saturday evening, you will be happy to hear that the Sunday shopping laws have this month been changed, and food shops, both large and small, may now open on Sunday morning until 13h.

 

Auchan has lost its battle to open on Sundays, even in the tourist season.

Thirteen charges were brought against the supermarket in 2011 in the P.-O. for opening on Sunday. Only one of those resulted in a fine of 450 euros.  Employees and groups working for ‘le repos dominical’ (Sunday rest) this week claimed ‘use grande victoire pour tous les salariés dans la lutte contre le travail dominical’ when the Court of Appeal of Montpellier confirmed the decision made in 2011, stating that Auchan must remain closed on Sundays or risk a fine of 100,000 euros per day.

If they do open on Sunday, they must conform to an ‘arrêté prefectural’ passed in 1965, by which they must close on the Monday following the Sunday opening!

Legally, shops selling mainly food may stay open on Sundays until 13h and the mayor has the right to apply for permission for supermarkets to remain open in tourist areas over the summer season. However, Perpignan council has not made this request.

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