Belgian Sundays need a sparkle!

If you rent a room or a flat alone in a Belgian city, you will notice that most young people go back home in the weekend, because they have their weekend off, leaving the cities in an unusual stillness. Especially in the winter, lonely weekends in Belgium can be boring, or even depressing, because it's the time Belgian guys chill out or meet relatives. Saturday is crowded in most places though, because shops are still open and people rush to buy things they can't buy during the week. Yet, don't be mistaken and go out for shopping the wrong day, because all shops are usually closed on Sunday. As a result, most Belgian cities become deserted dull places that day, where almost the only people you'll meet down the streets are beggars. As a general advice for those who live in Belgium: if you don't want to starve on Sunday, always do your grocery shopping before!

First world problem in Belgium.

In other European countries, including England, shops are free open the day they want, which is not the case in Belgium. During the week, shops usually stay open until 6pm, except in some commercial centers (and in night shops, which are open from 6pm to 7am), but they can't open on Sunday, because they have to keep a weekly rest day. The only time they can open on Sunday is six times a year, usually before Christmas or the first day of sales. Also, it is possible for shops to open on Sunday morning if they stay closed the morning after, or even to choose another weekly rest day (but I don't really know any shop that does it). As a consequence, some people take the train and go shopping in, for instance, the Netherlands, where this law doesn't apply (e.g. people in the Walloon province of Liège often go shopping in the bordering city of Maastricht on Sunday).

A whole debate now takes place in France about the opening of shops on Sunday, and the issue is often discussed in Belgium without making any change. Some say that opening shops on Sunday would lead to an increase in sale and in the number of job opportunities. Others, including representatives of small shops, are against the idea, because they demand a day-off every week for their private life and believe large retailers would take advantage of such regulation by attracting more people on Sunday and reduce the turnover of smaller shops.

Yet, Belgian law leaves possibility for shops to stay open without restriction on Sunday in so-called 'touristic zones' (mostly city centers). In practice, the shops in most cities refuse to remain open on Sunday for the reasons I cited. The idea is still in discussion with representatives of some shops. The other effort made by municipalities in Belgium is to try making locals go outside anyway. This means making the city life more interesting in the weekend by organising leasure activities, such as plays, concerts, films or expositions... This should be a way to bring a little sparkle to our Belgian cities on Sunday, the day of sun, not that of the dark...

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