France extends summer sales after heat keeps shoppers away, minister says

PARIS, June 30 (Reuters) - France will extend its summer discount sales season by one week until July 28 due to a heatwave that kept shoppers away from stores, Minister for Small Businesses Serge Papin said on Tuesday.

"We will extend the sales by one week because the heatwave meant stores weren't visited during this period. The discount sales did not go well. They were to end on July 21, so they will therefore be extended to July 28," Papin said.

French summer discount sales started on June 24 when France was already in the midst of extreme temperatures that began on June 20.

(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Joe Bavier)