ABSTRACT
The opening, in June, 1963, of France's first hypermarket in the Paris suburb of Sainte-Genevieve-des-Bois heralded the start of a revolution in the French retailing industry as far-reaching in its impact as the arrival of the grand magasin in the 1850s. The hypermarket boom reached its peak in the early 1970s and many of the existing stores date from this period. Most hypermarkets offer cafeteria facilities and also incorporate a number of small specialist boutiques within the main store as an added attraction. There is often a play area for children and a petrol service station with various auto-related sales. The advent of the hypermarket and the general expansion of the commercial sector in the 1960s led to the creation of many new jobs. It was government policy in the late 1960s to encourage the spread of hypermarkets in order to fill gaps in the provision of retail services on the hastily-built estates of grands ensembles.
