French PM backs more Sunday business hours to lure Chinese shoppers  

法将允许商家周日营业：不希望中国游客去伦敦购物

This undated file photo shows a luxury shopping mall in Paris. (Photo: xinmin.cn)

(ECNS) – France unveiled a package of economic reform measures on Wednesday to stimulate its stagnant economy, including a controversial plan to extend Sunday opening hours to keep Chinese tourists from shopping in London, Singapore's Lianhe Zaobao has reported.

Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron plans to let shops open up to twelve Sundays a year from the five currently permitted. Shops in "international tourist zones" will also be allowed to open until midnight. The French tradition that shops do not open and workers do not work on Sundays has been maintained for over 100 years.

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls has voiced his support for the measure.

"Do we want millions and millions of tourists -- notably Chinese -- who come to the capital, to leave us and do their shopping in London on a Sunday?" he said.

However, the ruling Parti Socialiste said that the package should not move beyond five Sundays per year for the whole nation, and warned that it will vote against the measure after a parliamentary debate expected in January.

The latest polls indicate that nearly 60% of the French public support the reform bill.

The reforms are to "clear away the rigidities, lift the blockages and the glass ceilings, and to allow our economy to function better, to flow better," insisted Macron.

Other moves include opening up intercity coach travel within France, and selling between five to ten billion euros in state-owned assets. In addition, the government plans to open up previously closed professions such as notaries and bailiffs, which will likely spark protests from workers in these areas.

The French gross domestic product inched up 0.3% in the third quarter of the year, after two consecutive periods of zero growth. However, economic growth remains sluggish and unemployment stubbornly high, sustaining record levels.

The French economy suffers from a lack of competition in domestic markets, which the Macron bill would help to tackle, said Diego Iscaro, France analyst at IHS Global.

Even if the reforms were approved and implemented in full, Iscaro said there were doubts over whether they would have a significant impact over the short term, "although they should help to lift the economy's long-term growth potential."