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The mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, released an online petition entitled “Noël Sans Amazon” (“Un Noël sans Amazon”). Addressed to Santa Claus, it commits the signatories to a “#ChristmasWithoutAmazon”, described as a tax evasion Grinch that destroys small businesses, jobs and the environment in France.
The virtual call to arms, however, was quickly the victim of an online hack that overloaded the website with forged signatures sent from over 200 different servers, including hundreds on behalf of Jeff Bezos, Amazon CEO. , with the comment “Sorry, not sorry, Jeff. “
The rush of French politicians to appease the anger of small businesses has reopened a wider controversy over Black Friday itself, which wasn’t even an event in Europe until a few years ago, when it was inaugurated. mainly by Amazon, which started to promote significant sales. at the same time as those in the United States.
While American Thanksgiving is just one more Thursday in Europe, Black Friday has flourished. In Britain, Spain and other countries, Amazon and other major retailers have already started offering Black Friday discounts online earlier this month.
France has been slower than other European countries to join the trend and politicians have discouraged shoppers from participating, warning of “a consumer frenzy” in which people are encouraged to buy products they don’t have. no need. The fact that Amazon isn’t a French company hasn’t helped either.
Yet Black Friday has been a crucial tool for retailers to increase sales. Last year, retailers in France achieved an estimated turnover of 6 billion euros around Black Friday.
Those sales are more crucial than ever this year as retailers have faced unprecedented losses due to lockdowns linked to the coronavirus pandemic. Although stores reopened from June to September, that was not enough to fully compensate for France’s first foreclosure: sales since the start of the year are still, on average, 10% below their levels. 2019, according to an analysis by German bank Allianz.
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