If you are taking your first holiday in France , or want to come and live in France , the opening hours of shops and commerce may bewilder you.
More importantly, the closing hours; so trying to shop for anything other than food on a Monday is best avoided.

It takes a while after arriving here, to get used to the idea that banks, supermarkets and government offices (apart from CPAM) all close for 2 hours.
In England if we work, this is when most of us are able to do
our banking or shopping.

Soon after I arrived in France I spent an hour wandering around Avranches on a Monday morning looking in vain for any open shop.
Even my newly found wonderful coffee shop was closed.

The big shopping warehouses just outside Avranches will be open, including the new Carrefore, which has a restaurant and small café.
Before this was built there were very few places to stop for a decent
coffee or snack when the stores were closed at lunchtime.
Decathlon does stay open (and has decent toilets!)

Recently my friend and I were almost thrown out of a store at 10 to 12 as
the sales girls put out the lights and announced we must go to the till immediately. However trying this may be at first,
you soon accept the idea of perhaps only accomplishing one or
sometimes two errands per morning or afternoon.

This does have the advantage or slowing you down and this slower
quieter pace of life is one of the reasons we come to France in the first place.

Don't rail against the 2 hour lunch.
You won't change it; so if you can't beat ‘em, join ‘em.

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