You've been there before: you work all week and the only time you have for errands and shopping is the precious 48 hours between Friday and Monday morning. The problem is, Sunday is your government-mandated day of rest, which means nearly all stores must be closed, with few exceptions for establishments who provide some type of cultural value.

The result, of course, is that every Saturday is like the day before Christmas, as manic customers pack department stores to buy ironing boards, picture frames, and what have you.
Annoying, right?

Well you're not alone. According to Metro, Parisians are ready and willing to work and shop on Sundays. And Parisist says why not? It's a day more of income for stores and a day more of income for people who need jobs (like students who need to work on the weekend to pay rent), resulting in an extra day of economic stimulation for a country who could use a little. Sounds like simple math to us.

Of course, it isn't so simple in this land of slow-changing tradition. The laws were originally created to give hard working artisans — bakers, bricklayers, etc. — a rest on the Holy Day of the Week, long before a work shift involved standing in one spot ringing up DVD purchases at FNAC.

Many stores open illegally on Sundays, and work inspectors are trying hard to crack down. There's hope, however. Local officials are drafting a possible amendment to the law, to be proposed next month. Fear not shopoholics, we'll be following this one closely.

Photo of Galeries Lafayette by ThePretender on Flickr

On a related, but creepier note, this past Saturday the Celio store on the Champs-Elysées offered eight shirtless men of varying sizes for you to walk around with and try on the clothes you were thinking of buying. Any chest hairs remaining in shirts were gratuit with your purchase. [via 20minutes ]