AN AMAZON warehouse in France was forced to temporarily close on Thursday, after protesters blocked entry to its Bretigny-sur-Orge facility near Paris, as it readied for the Black Friday sales.
Between 50 and 100 activists from the Non-Violent Action COP21 and Friends of the Earth group were demonstrating against the Black Friday sales, claiming it harms the planet. They dumped old fridges and microwaves on the road leading to the warehouse. Demonstrators also placed bales of hay on the road and lay prostrate on the ground, preventing any traffic from passing.
They held up banners, which read:”Amazon: For the climate, for jobs, stop expansion, stop over-production!"
The activists say the surge in deliveries by Amazon and other retailers to shoppers snapping up bargains on everything from phones to furniture and clothes add to greenhouse gas emissions.
They were eventually rounded up by police, and the obstacles cleared.
However, more “Block Friday’ demonstrations are planned for Friday, that could see other Amazon facilities targeted and shut down.
Black Friday: Climate protestors outside Amazon warehouse (Image: France 24/YouTube)
Black Friday: Shoppers on hunt for bargains (Image: GETTY)
In France there is a growing anger and opposition to the Black Friday phenomenon, which often sees frenzied crowds storming shops in search of bargains.
This is prompting lawmakers to start taking measures against retailers
On Monday a committee of politicians in France's National Assembly passed an amendment that proposes prohibiting the sales bonanza.
They argue that it causes "resource waste" and "overconsumption."
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Black Friday news: Black Friday Sales (Image: GETTY)
The amendment, which was put forward by the former environment minister, Delphine Batho, will be debated next month.
The Mayor’s office in Paris is also considering new rules, including a tax on deliveries, to ease the traffic jams and pollution caused by Amazon and others.
In an open letter published on Monday,Jean-Louis Missika, the deputy in charge of urban affairs in Paris, claimed that Amazon alone would deliver 2.5 million packages a day in Paris during the Black Friday sales, ten times more than normal.
Environment Minister Elisabeth Borne earlier this week also warned against the "consumption frenzy" and pollution triggered by Black Friday.
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Black Friday news: Black Friday Sales (Image: GETTY)
Black Friday news: Amazon (Image: GETTY)
Black Friday is an informal name for the Friday following Thanksgiving Day in the United States, which is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November.
It is followed by another mass sales exercise called Cyber Monday, which was created by retailers to encourage people to shop online.
Last year Amazon said the period spanning Thanksgiving Day to Cyber Monday — which the company called the Turkey 5 — broke company records for worldwide sales, with "millions" more products sold than in the same period in 2017.
Jeff Wilke, the CEO of Amazon worldwide consumer, said in a statement:”Black Friday and Cyber Monday continue to break records on Amazon year-over-year, which tells us that customers love shopping for deals to kick off the holiday shopping season.”
This is not the first time that demonstrators have targeted Amazon in France.
In July of this year some 240 people blocked access to Amazon’s (AMZN.O) main office in Paris, with many denouncing the online giant’s business practices, saying it wasn’t paying its fair share of tax or paying its employees a fair wage.
Black Friday news: Jeff Wilke, Amazon (Image: GETTY)
At the time Amazon issued a statement to Reuters which said:”We are very proud of our work environment and of the thousands of employees we have in France.
“We invite anyone who wants to come and visit any of our sites and form their own opinion.”
The retailer earlier announced the creation of 1,800 new jobs in France as it looks to raise its number of permanent staff to 9,300 by the end of the year.