France PM says weighing options on Sunday shopping

PARIS, Jan 13 (Reuters) - The French government is examining options to expand Sunday shopping, but has not yet made a decision, Prime Minister Francois Fillon said in a joint television, radio and newspaper interview on Sunday.

"We are conscious we have to change the current situation," Fillon told LCI television, RTL radio and Le Figaro newspaper. He said, however, he believed neither the government majority nor French public opinion was in favor of full liberalization.

He said options under consideration included allowing big out of town shopping centers to open on Sundays if their retailers agreed by common consent, expanding the current arrangement by which local authorities can allow a limited number of Sunday openings or just extending opening times for food retailers.

The government took a first step toward liberalizing the rules before Christmas by adopting a law allowing furniture retailers to open on Sundays. Fillon said he hoped there would be a new law on the matter before the summer. (Reporting by Nick Antonovics; editing by Gary Crosse)