So, we’re in a problem here. We’ve a pandemic going on, of a disease that is transmitted by personal contact. We have therefore closed most of the retail industry in order to protect people.
In order that some semblance of life may continue we’d like some system or providing people with the necessaries – and the desires – of life which minimises said human contact. Which we have, those vast online warehouses that deliver orders taken over the internet.
Well done France, well done, closing those warehouses down:
Amazon has ordered the temporary closure of all six of its French distribution centres, one day after a French court ruled it was not doing enough to protect its workers in the country amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The online giant said in a statement that “this week, we are requesting employees of our distribution centres to stay at home. In the longer term, we will evaluate the impact of that [court] decision for them and our French logistic network”.
Amazon’s French warehouses are to be shut down for five days from Thursday to carry out a deep clean and to “take all the necessary measures to guarantee the health and safety of staff”, the company said.
The reason?
Amazon France also said it is appealing against Tuesday’s emergency ruling, which requires the company to stop selling non-essential goods for a month while it works out new worker safety measures.
Sales of food, medicine and hygiene supplies are still allowed under the ruling.
However, Amazon France said that given the “inherent complexity” of its activities, and the potential €1m ($1.1m) fine for each violation of the ruling, the risk was “too high”.
As ever, the perfect is the enemy of the good here.
Or, of course, we could express our surprise at the pettifogging nonsense of the French bureaucracy but that would hardly be a surprise, would it?
Could this spark another gilets jaune style protest when people realise they can’t buy anything worth having? Lets hope so, globally we need to keep on top of the authoritarians who are using this crises to consolidate their power.
At this rate nobody will have any money left to buy essential supplies, let alone the supposedly superfluous.
To the contrary, people will have tons of money. I’m watching the mailbox for my first $1200, and everyone on unemployment just got a raise. But yes, nothing worth buying with it.
Sadly, or actually perhaps for the good, I receive no such benefits.
Yeah, the lady in my shop has locked down on orders of the government, so I’ve told her to stop paying me rent, which means I have no income. The benefits system sees that I have a shop and declares that I have an income from it, and disqualifies me for benefits. Which means I have no income.
Perfect being the enemy of the good sums up most of France’s problems.
Good being the enemy of reasonably competent sums up even more of France’s problems.
If Amazon were French, there’d be no problem – especially if it were an arm of the government.
But it’s an evil tax-avoiding American invader, so all is fair in seeking to damage it.
What are “non-essential” goods? In my twice-weekly excusion to the shops I’ve bought packet of chocolate Hob-Nobs. I need a sack of mortar and some tap pipes, but I haven’t been allowed to go shopping for them.
Actually it was a complaint from the Union. I am sure it has its origins in some other gripe the Union has which now can be fully exploited in the current ‘crisis’. However. French customers will now be supplied by Amazon warehouses in other Countries and third party vendors who are not affected in any case. In addition Amazon will pay full wages but use Government ‘partial unemployment’ scheme whereby the company pays part of the pay, Government the rest and the company is given a holiday from tax and social security payments. So whereas Amazon was not a burden… Read more »