LThe Ecological Transition Agency has just invented a new profession, that of “reseller”. The friendly bearded man in a blue blouse appears between two shelves of polo shirts or washing machines to persuade the customer to abandon their purchase: this television campaign completes the arsenal developed by the Ministry of the Environment to encourage repairs and thus preserving the planet from its countless waste.
Like the ecologists in the latest film by Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano, A difficult year, those in the government chose their date, that of the big Black Friday promotion, to go on the attack. This Black Friday from America has become, in a decade, the most intense time of the year in terms of online and in-store promotions. No wonder, therefore, that traders grimace in the face of such official counter-advertising, at a time when bankruptcies are piling up for clothing brands.
From Camaïeu to Minelli, we can no longer count the victims, and the Ministry of the Economy, which is increasing the number of rescue missions, has in turn rebelled against this unwelcome publicity. These are, in any case, beautiful contradictory injunctions which will not improve the morale of the French, now guilty of looking for good deals.
Supermarket Company
This little controversy perfectly illustrates the paradox French, which makes the country and its political decision-makers balance between the defense of the consumer, that of the environment and that of the producer. This movement has certainly spread throughout Europe, but has been exacerbated in France, to the extent that the joint maintenance of social protection among the best in the world and purchasing power have led the State to tax businesses and go into considerable debt, further weakening its economic situation, leading to the creation of a “supermarket society”, where Intermarché and other E.Leclercs have replaced factories on the outskirts of cities.
A paradoxical situation which hides another. The French, eager for consumption, are also, when they can, champions of savings. As if all these contradictory messages, between sellers and “de-sellers”, were further blurring confidence in the future.