Michelle Obama enjoys Paris privilege barred to millions in France: Sunday shopping

PARIS - Michelle Obama and her girls enjoyed a special Sunday shopping trip in Paris this month thanks to friends in high places who bent France's Sunday store-closing rules.

President Nicolas Sarkozy said Tuesday that calls were made to open a swanky children's boutique, usually closed by law on Sundays, where the First Lady and her two daughters perused racks of $200 summer dresses and $100 sweaters.

"Is it normal that on a Sunday when Madame Obama wants to go to the Paris shops with her daughters, that I have to make phone calls to have them open?" said Sarkozy, who is pushing to change the law.

"Who is going to explain to them why France is the only country where shops are closed on Sundays?"

It was actually the U.S. Embassy that arranged for opening of the shop, Bonpoint, a store spokeswoman said.

But presumably the boutique won't have to worry about paying hefty fines for shops that buck a 1906 law banning most Sunday shopping.

There was no immediate comment from the First Lady's White House office or the State Department.

After a private lunch on June 7 with Sarkozy and his wife, Carla, the First Lady's entourage headed to the upscale St.-Germain-des-Près neighborhood so Obama and her daughters could enjoy a private trip to Bonpoint, a branch of the upscale French chain.

The Obamas arrived in a small group and stayed for about an hour, a store spokeswoman said.

She wouldn't confirm what the party bought, but a hot-pink linen dress, ideal for 8-year-old Sasha, goes for $212. A simple white cotton version, perfect for 10-year-old Malia, costs $255.

Add $102 for a coordinating navy cardigan. President Obama, in France for the June 6 D-Day anniversary, brought along his family - and a 30-car motorcade -- for a whirlwind weekend visit that shut down parts of Paris.

Even the French finance minister was forced off her bike while the First Family navigated the capital's famous boulevards.

The President left at midday Sunday, leaving his wife and daughters to enjoy another day in Paris before they moved on to London.

Unlike in the U.S. and Great Britain, most of France's 62 million people have do their shopping Monday to Saturday - and not during lunchtime when many stores close.

There are exceptions for shops selling food, or those deemed to have a "recreational" or "cultural" value, mostly in tourist areas.

Stores like Virgin mega store and Ikea that buck the law have been slapped with huge fines. Sarkozy is moving to expand the tourist zones as part of his push to get France to "work more, earn more."

Polls show two-thirds of French support changing the law.

But small retailers say they can't afford the provision that requires employees to be paid double-time on Sundays.

By Linda Hervieux - nydailynews.com