France news and archive

C&A continues its restructuring, 300 jobs threatened in France

Paris - Dutch fashion brand C&A, established in France for over 50 years and which has been restructuring its store network for several years, has just announced a new project that puts more than 300 jobs at risk. Announced to its employees on March 14, the new workforce reduction plan has not gone down well with the unions, particularly the CGT...

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French clothing and textile sales up 4.3 percent in October 2024

In October 2024, retailers' sales of clothing and textiles recorded a 4.1 percent increase in value compared to October 2023, according to data shared by IFM Panel. After the strong increase last September , the French clothing and textile sector continues its performance. For the month of October 2024, distributor sales recorded an increase of...

Retail

Savage X Fenty teams up with Galeries Lafayette and arrives in France

As part of an ongoing international expansion strategy, Savage X Fenty, the lingerie brand founded by Rihanna, has chosen to partner with French department store Galeries Lafayette. Starting September 12, the deal allows the brand to be distributed in nine Galeries Lafayette stores across France, including stores in Marseille Prado, Béziers,...

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France: Fashion industry players mobilise against the National Rally

As France waits for the second round of legislative elections, part of the country is mobilising against the arrival of the National Rally (RN) in power, after it won 29.25 percent of the vote (33.15 percent with the Republican allies) in the first round. In this historic context, a handful of personalities from the fashion sector have spoken...

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Will relocation and digitalisation help in the renaissance of France’s fashion retail sector?

Which industries, with the possible exception of emerging ones, bring only good news? Once thriving, the retail sector in the French textile and clothing industry is now facing a host of challenges. Competition from low-cost countries, the rise of e-commerce and changes in consumer habits have undermined what was once a dynamic sector. Far from...

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A guide to French political fashion

France is in the midst of two of its favourite pastimes: political turmoil and fashion week -- two worlds that increasingly collide. Fashion writer Marc Beauge, who has advised at least one president, walked AFP through the evolving style rules for French politicians. For male politicians, he said, a simple uniform has become dominant: a navy...

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Shein in focus as France fights back against fast fashion

With jaw-droppingly low prices and a seemingly endless selection of trendy clothes, Shein has taken the world by storm -- and found itself in the crosshairs of French lawmakers who want to curb the excesses of fast fashion. Customers love the Chinese-founded firm's massive catalogue of ultra-cheap items, from 8 dollar sundresses to 48-cent...

Fashion

French parliament votes to slow down fast fashion

France's parliament on Thursday backed a string of measures making low-cost fast fashion, especially from Chinese mass producers, less attractive to buyers. The vote makes France the first country in the world "legislating to limit the excesses of ultra fast fashion", said Christophe Bechu, minister for the ecological transition. Key measures...

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France is one step closer to taxing fast fashion

As the curtain closes on Paris Fashion Week, the French government advanced a step closer to imposing penalties on fast fashion producers. Proposed on Monday by parliament ministers, a new bill suggests fines of up to 10 euros or 50 percent of the selling price of garments for major players like Shein, aiming to counterbalance their...

Culture

France’s National Museum of Education explores role and evolution of clothing in schools

As the debate over the adoption of school uniforms rages on in France and their trial use begins in some cities, an exhibition in the city of Rouen in the north traces the symbolic role of clothing in educational institutions. In the exhibition, France’s National Museum of Education invites visitors to explore the evolution of clothing in...

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Amazon French warehouses unit fined 32 million euros

France's data protection agency said Tuesday it had fined Amazon's French warehouse management unit 32 million euros ($34.9 million) for an "excessively intrusive" surveillance system to monitor staff performance. Amazon France Logistique monitored the performance of employees through data from scanners used by the staff to process packages,...

Fashion

Blue pullover with grey trousers to become France's school fashion

If the French government has its way, children could soon be going to school in uniform blue pullovers and grey trousers as part of President Emmanuel Macron's campaign to make education more equal and orderly. A government source on Friday confirmed to AFP the typical uniform that authorities want to see used in a new experiment that Macron...