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No increase to tobacco tax in France for 2025, says new government
Stricter anti-smuggling operations envisioned, as well as a tax on vaping
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Which Cora supermarkets in France are rebranding to Carrefour?
The changeover will be gradual and in three stages, with no job losses expected
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Five things they do not tell you about… shopping in France
Navigating the etiquette, from greeting shopkeepers to market manners
Quoi de neuf - French shopping in February 2019
New products, designs and ideas from around France
Bright sparks
Rom and Butch is the company name of two friends – Romain Desmaretz (33) and Vincent Lipowicz (39, a former butcher who retrained as a carpenter) – who create unique wood and metal furniture pieces in their workshop in Saint-Mamet-la-Salvetat, Cantal (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes).
The metal they use comes mainly from scrap, while the wood is sourced at local sawmills and is always French oak, chestnut, walnut or ash.
Vincent is passionate about cutting wood with a jigsaw, and he creates elegant decorations made of vertical panels and works on the details of wooden objects.
Bookcase shown: €820.
https://fullmaya.com/8_rom-butch
Fun for all the family
‘The only game that can be enjoyed as much by granny as by her grand-children’ is how Quilles Molle – the French-made version of the Finnish game Mölkky – is billed.
This skittles-like game was originally conceived as an outdoor summer game but Nantes designer Clément Levesque decided to create an entirely French version to be enjoyed in the comfort of the living room – made with ecologically responsible Pyrenean beech wood and Angoulême felt.
Price: €43.90 for a set.
Pompier pullovers
The eco-responsible clothing brand 1083 has taken the ‘circular’ economy by creating sweaters made up to 65% from recycled firemen’s jumpers.
Their new “18 – Volunteer” pull – is available for men and women and is entirely recycled, spun, dyed, designed, knitted and made in the Tarn.
It bears the pompiers’ phone number and the word Volontaire.
Price: €99.
Putting the posh into pochettes
Family-run fashion accessories company Inès de Parcevaux – with sisters Inès and Sophie at the helm – produces a wide range of foulards (scarves) but it was these vibrant clutch bags that caught our eye for springtime.
The bags are made in Lille while the chains are created at the company’s headquarters in Boulogne Billancourt.
Price €45.