France and London busy preparing for Ramadan – video

France and London busy preparing for Ramadan – video

All of the big supermarkets in France are launching various promotions for the Muslim holiday, while the UK capital is illuminated with lights as if it were Christmas.

WORLD MARCH 21. 2023 14:27

French department stores are zealously getting ready for Ramadan, the biggest Muslim holiday, reveals a survey conducted by the Al-Kanz blog, which concentrates on the consumer protection of the Muslim community in France. The creators of the blog – launched in 2006 with a special focus on halal food – visited the largest French stores to find out how they are preparing for the most important Muslim holiday starting on Wednesday, 22 March this year.

Al-Kanz awarded Carrefour a particularly good rating, emphasizing that the chain has been paying considerable attention to its Muslim customers for more than ten years. This year they issued a Ramadan-themed sale brochure with low-priced halal products on special offer in Carrefour stores in France between 9 March and 3 April.

The store chain also produced a promotional video that features young employees presenting the the wide range of halal food and drink available.

Auchan, a retail chain present in several countries in Europe, had for a long time insisted on its position of not launching promotional campaigns during Ramadan. Eventually, however, they followed suit and now they welcome customers with „Joyeux Ramadan” (Happy Ramadan) decor on the occasion of the holiday, and have Tunisian dates, a favourite Muslim delicacy on offer at a good price.

Stores owned by the Casino Group are offering customers extremely tempting discount prices: during Ramadan, buy one get second with a significant discount of 68 per cent.

Metro stores are wooing shoppers with special Ramadan offers for the duration of the entire holy month from 22 March to 21 April.

E.Leclerc, however, stands out from all other large stores. It did not merely publish one or two Ramadan-themed catalogues, like the others. It issued no fewer than eleven promotional publications, the blog reports. The Toulon store of the chain appreciate the Muslim celebration so much that they wrote the message “Ramadan Mubarak”, meaning “blessed Ramadan” on the cover in large Arabic letters.

However, not only stores in France are preparing eagerly for Ramadan, it is also a big event in the UK. The iconic centre of London has been decorated for the first time to mark the biggest Muslim festival.

Coventry Street, connecting Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square, the two busiest squares in London, was decorated with the text “Happy Ramadan”, and illuminated with lights in the shape of the crescent moon and stars, and also with traditional lanterns known as fanous.

West End, a popular shopping district and tourist destination, has also been decorated. During Ramadan, it is not uncommon to for a surge of rich tourists from the Gulf states to visit, which has been referred to by the British media as the „Ramadan Rush” analogous to the rush at Christmas.

In London, public spaces have been decorated with reference to the city having the highest concentration of Muslims in Britain, with 15% of the British capital’s population identifying as Muslim. It is important to note, however, that followers of Islam are still in a minority compared to Christians, who make up 46% of the city’s residents.

The decorations, which have been called historic by many, appeared a few days after an announcement by the Royal Mint, one of the UK’s oldest institutions, that it will issue a 20-gram gold coin depicting the Kaaba temple in Mecca, the holiest site of the Muslim faith.

WORLD

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france, Great Britain, lights, lonod, promotions, ramadan, shops