The Administrative Court of Paris has overturned the government’s plan to allow businesses to employ workers on Sundays during the Olympic and Paralympic Games. This ruling reinforces existing protections regarding Sunday rest and demonstrates that even the authority of the national government can be overturned by the courts when it attempts to suspend or modify Sunday restrictions during major international events. On October 20, 2026, the French Labor Union for Commerce and Services (SUD) publicly announced that it had successfully challenged—through the judicial system—the government measures that sought to permit Sunday work in certain commercial establishments.
The French Labor Union for Commerce and Services (SUD) reported the following:
• “In two judgments delivered on October 15, 2026, the Administrative Court of Paris partially sided with our union in its challenge to six exemptions to Sunday rest.” [1]
• “It cancelled the extension of the exemption from Sunday rest requirements for food businesses in the 10th, 11th, 13th, 14th, and 20th districts of Paris.” [1]
• “As the only union to have challenged these local government decrees in court, we denounced excessive exemptions, both in their duration and geographical scope, putting the economic interests of food, clothing, bookstore, and sports retailers ahead of employees’ rights to weekly rest, paid leave, and personal and family life.” [1]
• “The 2030 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, which will take place in the French Alps, and the renewal of a legislative provision allowing exemptions from Sunday rest requirements, constitute a useful reminder for the future: the rights of employees must not be sacrificed on the altar of major sporting events.” [1]
• “This partial victory demonstrates the usefulness of union action, including in court, to ensure respect for workers’ rights.” [1]
Although the union did not succeed in overturning all six government measures, the court rulings were decisive victories in its fight to protect Sunday as a weekly day of rest, allowing workers to spend time with their families and enjoy their personal lives. The decisions also show how important Sunday remains in European labor laws and public policies.
These court rulings also show that labor unions can successfully challenge the powerful arm of the state when political authorities attempt to weaken or relax Sunday shopping restrictions. Such victories will only serve to encourage and embolden labor unions—both in France and elsewhere—to take even more decisive action against future efforts to relax Sunday closing laws, making it more difficult for anyone to challenge existing Sunday-rest protections.
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