Black Friday has become a worldwide sales event, despite it being in association with U.S. Thanksgiving. French activists and lawmakers have called for a ban on this global phenomenon saying it causes unnecessary waste and overconsumption.
Demonstrations are expected throughout France today to show their support for the ban under the banner of “Block Friday.”
According to Associated Press, dozens of French activists blocked an Amazon warehouse south of Paris in a Black Friday-inspired protest. Protesters from climate group Amis de la terre (Friends of the Earth) spread hay and old refrigerators and microwaves on the driveway leading to the warehouse in Bretigny-sur-Orge on Thursday. They held signs in front of the gates reading “Amazon: For the climate, for jobs, stop expansion, stop over-production!”
France’s National Assembly has noticed the demand for a ban on Black Friday. An amendment was passed Monday that proposes prohibiting the gigantic sales day the was put forward by France’s former environment minister Delphine Batho.
✅ L’amendement #StopBlackFriday est ADOPTÉ en Commission du Développement Durable ! Merci à @V_Riotton de son avis favorable et à tous les collègues qui ont voté POUR. 🙏 https://t.co/ALdwwkqDDN
— Delphine Batho (@delphinebatho) November 25, 2019
“Separately, the ecological transition minister, Elisabeth Borne, has criticized Black Friday for creating ‘traffic jams, pollution, and gas emissions,’” says The Independent. “We cannot both reduce greenhouse gas emissions and call for a consumer frenzy. Above all, we must consume better.”
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