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PARIS: Amazon is removing advertising for pre-Black Friday discounts in France, after the government said the campaign was unfair to small stores at a time when a coronavirus lockdown forced them to close.
France entered its second national lockdown on Friday (October 30) to try to contain an increase in infections. The restrictions imposed by it include the closure of non-essential stores.
An Amazon spokeswoman said the group had agreed to stop its radio advertising campaign around pre-Black Friday sales.
However, a page with discounted items under the heading “Black Friday ahead of time” was posted on its French website on Saturday.
Junior Economy Minister Agnes Pannier-Runchaer said she had asked Amazon to suspend the campaign. “It was not entirely appropriate at a time when 200,000 companies will have to close their doors,” he told Europe 1 radio on Saturday.
A discounted shopping day that takes place around the world, Black Friday typically falls on the Friday of the US Thanksgiving weekend.
Amazon’s French campaign was to run between October 26 and November 19.
The online retailer had to close some of its warehouses in France during the country’s first shutdown this spring, after clashing with unions over sanitary conditions there.
Pannier-Runacher, who was asked whether Amazon would be allowed to run a campaign for Black Friday sales this year, said it was not yet clear. “This is an issue that we will have to work on with all the retailers,” he said.
French restaurants, cafes and shops that do not sell essentials will need to close for at least the next two weeks.
The restrictions sparked protests across the country over the bookstores in particular, and opposition politicians and literary figures called for them to remain open.
Fnac Darty, which sells books and electronics, said on Friday it would close its culture section in the coming weeks out of solidarity, after chain stores were targeted because some will remain open.
