An article in the Financial Times titled “France retailers battle restrictive opening hours (November 4,2013) describes rules that permit garden centers, furniture and food stores to be open until 1 pm on Sundays but does not permit do-it-yourself and department stores similar options without special approval. Sephora, a cosmetics retailer, has to shut their Champs Elysees store by 9 pm, while the Monoprix, a food and fashion store, can be open until midnight on weekdays. Sephora claims to sell 20% of its volume between 9 pm and midnight, but some union leaders claim that the option to purchase perfumes late at night is not a social necessity. Should rules across products be required to be consistent to enable more effective competition ? Should the focus of these decisions be consumer preferences or the welfare of union employees or overall economic benefit ? Will such inconsistent operating hours benefit or hurt the consumer ?