France

Sunday working bill passes lower house

Article published on the 2009-07-16 Latest update 2009-07-16 13:38 TU

French Lower House vote law on Sunday work.
(Credit: reuters)

The lower house of France's parliament has voted in favour of a controversial law to allow more companies to open on Sunday, traditionally a rest day. A key committee of the Senate Thursday made no changes to the bill.  But the opposition Socialist Party has announced that it will take the proposal to the Constitutional Court.

If the bill becomes law, 15 commercial centres on the outskirts of Paris, Lille and Marseille will be able to remain open every Sunday. Workers will be paid double for every Sunday worked and have a day off on another day of the week.

And local officials in areas deemed to be of interest to tourists will have the power to authorise shops to open, with employers allowed to tell their employees when they will have their weekly days off. Bosses will have to negotiate compensation with unions but will be allowed to take unilateral action if there is no agreement.

The ruling UMP says that this provision concerns 500 towns and villages but the opposition claims that ate least 6,000 could be affected.

The bill had already failed to get through the assembly on two occasions and has opened up divisions inside the UMP, with ten MPs votin against on Wednesday. The government's allies of the Nouveau Centre (New Centre) also voted against, as did former presidential candidate François Bayrou, who is a practising Catholic.

The bill must now go through the upper house, the Senate, in order to become law.

Today more shops open on Sunday in France than in Germany but fewere than in the UK.