Martin Bureau, AFP | The Galeries Lafayette deparment store on Boulevard Haussman is a favourite stop among big-spending tourists

France’s finance ministry on Wednesday unveiled a map of 12 areas in Paris where shops will be allowed to stay open until midnight and on Sundays, in a drastic departure from the country’s strict labour laws.

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The boundaries of the so-called International Tourist Zones, or ZTI’s, were approved by Prime Minister Manuel Valls on Wednesday, after slight changes to an earlier draft, with new business hours going into effect as early as this week.

The ZTI’s cover areas popular with tourists, like the iconic Champs Elysées boulevard and the artsy Marais neighbourhood, but also lesser-known corners of the capital, such as the Beaugrenelle shopping centre in the affluent 15th district.

The new zoning legislation comes at the end of a heated and public quarrel between French Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron, who championed the reform as a job-creating initiative, and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, who claims local decision makers were left out of the process.

The new business-friendly hours remain an exception to the 12 designated areas in Paris, but similar ZTI’s are set to be unveiled in the resort cities of Cannes, Deauville and Nice in the coming days.

Pictures of the 12 ZTI’s and a map are below.

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