Plan B Forum

France's top baguette baker has attacked his country's attitude to work after he was ordered to stop opening his shop seven days a week.



Stephane Cazenave has been told he will face a €1,500 (£1,100) fine if he fails to adhere to a law which states that all shops selling bread must close one day a week. Mr Cazenave, who runs a bakery in Saint-Paul-les-Dax, in south-west France, says the 1999 prefectural order means he will lose €250,000 (£185,000) a year and will be forced to lay off some of his 22 staff, who work five-day weeks.

The ruling has sparked a debate in France, with many viewing the baker's plight as a symbol of all that is wrong with anti-business regulations. Currently French MPs are debating a bill seeking to cut red tape and inject more flexibility into the French labour market. Mr Cazenave, who won 'best baguette of France' award last year, told TV channel France 3: 'I am treated like a thug just because I asked to work. Working shouldn't be a crime in France. 'I opened seven days a week three and a half years ago. I create jobs and wealth and I don't see why one would hinder me doing so.'

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Sunday trading in England and Wales was not generally permitted until 1994. This meant that shops such as department stores and supermarkets were not able to open legally. A number of specialist outlets were able to open legally, including garden centres, small "corner" or family-run shops, and chemists