Paris has two official sales periods per year: January and July. On Wednesday, January 11 and for a period of six weeks after, you can enjoy a 30-50% reduction off regular prices
By French law, the only times retailers can hold such sales are January and July. Any other reductions in price during the year are called “promotions” and are on a small number of items in the store. During the annual sales, the stores stock up specifically to sell at a discount. Le Printemps expects at least 500,000 people to visit its 17 stores in France on Wednesday, 180,000 in Paris alone.
These sales represent one quarter of the annual earnings of most retailers. They take it seriously!
So if you’re lucky enough to be in France over the next six weeks, enjoy the “soldes”!