Boycott? What boycott? Auchan sale brings in crowds and chaos

French retailer Auchan hypermart, perhaps worried about the rising anti-French fury among the Chinese public and the calls for boycotts against French businesses and products resulting from President Nicolas Sarkozy's meeting with the Dalai Lama, did something it knew would tug at the heartstrings and the pursestrings of the people of Shanghai — it called for a sale. The two-hour sale on Tuesday night at Auchan's Changyang outlet in Yangpu District was so successful that a stampede nearly broke out. Shanghai Daily adds:

At least one shopper fainted and children were left crying in the crush as crowds stormed the shop at 10pm trying to find the discounted specials. "I was shopping about 9:30pm and was astonished to find people rushing to the store late at night," said a customer surnamed Cheng.

Cheng said she saw a young woman faint and be carried out and frightened children crying.

She said the hypermarket had not organized enough staff members to ensure safety or help the shoppers ?? many did not know what products were discounted.

"People were snatching goods from the shelves as if they were free," Cheng said. "But when they checked they found many of the goods were not on special."

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