Xinhua News Agency, Paris, December 27
Xinhua News Agency reporter Chen Chen
Christmas came, and French television aired an early record of the "Christmas Eve" choir concert, the first concert after the fire at Notre Dame Cathedral. The singers wore hard hats and one-piece overalls and performed classic tracks such as "Jingle Bells" without a live audience.
Affected by the new crown epidemic, this year's Christmas season is different from previous years, although the streets of major cities in France are still brightly lit and festive, but the normal life of the people under the haze of the epidemic has been disturbed, and people are praying for health and safety in uneasiness.
Unlike the hot Christmas shopping trend in previous years, most French people choose to shop online this year. Julian Bertrand, 40, is a French live streamer on AliExpress, Alibaba's cross-border retail e-commerce platform, and has joined several anchors in The Christmas special after the "Double Eleven", "Double Twelve" and "Black Friday" consumption seasons.
Bertrand said that during Christmas this year, household consumption was lower than in previous years, "the past 10 months of poor household income, the future is full of uncertainty." He hopes to increase his income and improve his life by working part-time.
He said that due to the impact of the epidemic, many French people have chosen to buy things on large online shopping platforms, and fewer people have shopped in physical stores.
According to the survey data of the French media statistics company, in the third quarter of 2020, the number of online shoppers in France exceeded 41 million, an increase of about 510,000 over the same period last year. 67% of respondents said they would like to shop online during the spending season, with nine adults wishing to shop for Christmas.
"Chinese products sold on online platforms have a price advantage and are a good choice for buying holiday decorations and gifts," Bertrand said, "at present, live streaming is still a new thing for the French, and they still need time to accept it." ”
A few days ago, the mutated new coronavirus in the United Kingdom has attracted widespread attention, and many European countries have taken countermeasures. According to French media reports, strict epidemic prevention regulations have had a certain impact on the Christmas food supply of the French people, and a large number of seafood goods prepared to be shipped to France are stranded in the Uk. Dominique Schölcher, chairman of Super U, a major French supermarket chain, said there was a risk of seafood shortages in France.
Editor-in-Charge: Yin Shijie