AP reports from Paris that people don’t celebrate Thanksgiving in France, or Russia, or South Africa – but they do shop on Black Friday.
The U.S. sales phenomenon has spread to retailers across the globe in recent years with such force that it’s prompting a backlash from some activists, politicians and even consumers.
Near Paris, climate demonstrators blocked a shopping mall and gathered in from of Amazon’s headquarters to protest over-production they say is killing the planet. Workers at Amazon in Germany went on strike for better pay. Some French lawmakers want to ban Black Friday altogether.
Consumer rights groups in Britain and some other countries say retailers use Black Friday as a slogan to lure in shoppers, but it’s not always clear how real or large the discounts are. Other critics say it hurts small businesses.
Globalized trade has brought U.S. consumer tastes to shoppers around the world, from Halloween candy to breakfast cereal and peanut butter, sometimes even supplanting local traditions.
To French activists, Black Friday is the epitome of this shift, a purely commercial event designed to promote U.S. retailers ahead of the Christmas holidays, the symbol of capitalism run amok.
“The planet burns, oceans die, and we still want to consume, consume, and therefore produce, produce – until we eradicate all living things? … We will not betray our children for a 30% discount!” notes a manifesto by groups holding “Block Friday” protests around Paris.
Read the full story at thenationalherald.com
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