"Stop the abuse of shopkeepers and staff at the Grand Var commercial centre," he adds. And as a result of his flouting of the rule book, brasserie owner Brun has been sent an incredible €186,000 fine. Brun was not the only landlord to be hit with a fine, with other shops that stayed closed on Bastille Day also being sent similar penalties. "€186,624 fine for not having forced my staff to come to work on the symbolic day of July 14th!" According to Var Matin newspaper the group that runs the commercial centre responded by saying: "It's not normal that shopkeepers don't respect opening hours that were voted through by the general assembly."

Source: The Local August 09, 2016 11:37 UTC