France news and archive

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...

RetailFeatured

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...

Fashion

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...

Business

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...

Fashion

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...

Business

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...

Business

France to stop automatic receipt printing

France will stop the automatic printing of receipts from 1 August, as part of its move towards a circular economy, an official announcement read. Over 30 billion receipts are printed every year in France, many of which end up in waste. A survey even found that over a third of French people throw away a receipt immediately after purchase. The...

Fashion

France to pay bonus for shoe, clothes repairs to cut waste

From October, France will pay a bonus to encourage people to have their clothes and shoes repaired rather than throwing them away, the government said. The move aims to cut down on the 700,000 tonnes of clothes thrown away by French people each year, two-thirds of which ends up in landfills. “From October, consumers will be able to be supported...

Fashion

La Renverse: a new art programme in and around Seine-Saint-Denis, France

The students are between 18 and 23 years old. Nine of them live in the Seine-Saint-Denis area north of Paris, one in the area of Val-de-Marne and four in eastern Paris. These eight women and six men are involved in various artistic practices such as music, photography, video, design, fashion, etc. and have been selected on the basis of their...