Seen on a Legal Advice group in France, an American playing the “But I’m an American” card. FYI, it’s perfectly legal in France and there are signs everywhere in supermarkets telling you this will happen, and if you don’t show your bag they can refuse service. Link in comments
by BigBlueMountainStar
32 Comments
https://demarchesadministratives.fr/demarches/un-caissier-peut-il-vous-demander-ouvrir-votre-sac-a-main-ou-votre-sac-a-dos
Sorry one of our morons somehow got out of the continental US. We try to keep them stuck here but sometimes they slip through.
I promise we arent all like this.
Soooo … [Shopkeeper’s Privilege](http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shopkeeper's_privilege) is absolutely a thing in the U.S. This situation isn’t a 1:1 as apparently they told him they didn’t suspect him of shoplifting. They just wanted to go through his stuff for protocol, I guess.
Nonetheless, the exact same result, his stuff being gone through and/or him being detained, would have happened in the good ol’ U.S. of A. if a retailer was in the mood (suspicion, with no proof necessary).
This guy just just has an innate sense of entitlement to Freedumb and expects the rest of the planet to comply.
It’s almost like laws are different in other countries!
The shopper who went to France with the very American attitude of ‘the customer is always right’. *Malheureusement, mon ami,* in France it’s the vendor who is always right.
Bottom line ….not your country!! asshole. It’s theirs (France) and you abide by their laws or stfu and leave.
As an American who went to several French markets last summer… get over yourself. You are the reason we have to prove ourselves rational when we visit overseas.
Really? Didn’t know this was the case in France. But I wouldn’t be rude like that because I AM in a different country, different culture…I might not understand, but I might ask. The last thing I would want to do in another country is be seen as an “asshole American”.
I’ve told my wife that if I ever made it to Italy, I would be accepting of their culture. I would ask for them to serve me what they would recommend, rather than something they expect Americans to order because I want to embrace it. I would hope I would be accepted for my views and willingness to try things, but you never know…
Funny how he “wouldn’t personally grant these rights even to the police”, while he’s coming from a country where the police gets away with shooting and killing hundreds of people each year, often for even more trivial reasons than refusing to open their bags in a supermarket. I’m going to go out on a limb here and assume that he’s walking around in a skin tone that doesn’t tend to attract police abuse, which is why he’s so blissfully oblivious.
Bag checks are routine in most of Europe. I was shopping with a friend once who was working for the chain that we were in. She had an employee bonus card that she gave to the cashier to scan and the cashier still asked her to open her backpack. It’s almost automatic, they see a larger bag or backpack and they ask. Nothing to freak out about.
I’m from Germany. Our laws are.. Different.
The shop can ask you to show the content of your bag. You are not required to follow them. They can hold you back, if they have big enough reason to suspect anything. If not, they can do nothing.
Once they scan an item technical there’s a contract between the shop and you. They can not simply refuse to seell at this point, although that does not help you in reality.
I also don’t like being asked to show the content of my bags. We have also one shop that asks people to leave their backpacks at the register. They don’t offer any lockers, and don’t look at this. Had some talking there when I went with my laptop bag. I will not leave my expensive laptop there…
“Where I come from the customer is king!”
‘You do know what we do to our kings in France?’
You can’t leave a Costco without your goods being inspected.
The just comply idiots get bent when told to comply.
Should take the time to learn laws where you’re going to visit, people. (And language if you can.)
Im German and my friend came from Lithuania for a few days to visit me, and funnily enough he observed the same thing on someone right in front of us when he was paying and asked me about it. Its uncommon, usually you get a “can you lift the bag in the shopping cart up for a sec?” because truth be told I forgot stuff under there before. But it absolutely happens, more in some grocery chains than others.
Here’s my advice.
Don’t be a dick.
This is gold. Did this person really stomp down to the gendarmerie to demand they come and force Lidl to sell them groceries despite refusing to let the cashier glance inside the bags they were about to pack, because something something consent search something? Also apparently buying food is a human right and shops can’t refuse to serve you just because you’re an entitled dickhead who thinks the rules don’t apply to them? It has to be a troll. If not, this person shouldn’t be allowed to travel abroad.
Shocked they didn’t reference the Bill of Rights
Yeah, Americans have a hard time understanding that when they’re in France or another country, they’re not in America.
And as a french person, in France we generally don’t give a f that you’re american. In fact you better not disclose this fact lol
I say, make a stand. Don’t allow them to infringe on your God-given right as an American. I’m sure once they realize who they’re dealing with that they will back all the way off. There is no way that, even though you are in France, that their laws should apply to you as an American. If they don’t get that, you should continue to shout it louder and louder until they do. You might even want to remind them, in the firmest language possible, that they would all be speaking German if it wasn’t for Americans so they should thankful you’re there to shop.
That should put them their place.
Even through it’s right occasionally anytime anyone says “reasonable, articulable suspicion” I know I’m in for a crazy time.
People especially, full blown sovcits use that as one of their magic words that is supposed to ward them from the police. It’s also popular with the 1st amendment auditors. It’s usually misunderstood and misapplied. They usually only get it right when police contact them for looking a little sketchy and they refuse to hand over ID.
Pretty much the law in the USA as well. Merchants can attempt to confirm you aren’t shoplifting and if you don’t cooperate they can call the police. They can always refuse service as well. This Karen just did it overseas, it happens here too.
Different countries different laws
I’m disappointed that she didn’t assert the whateverthefuck amendment it is for being a huge arsehole
Im an American and it amazes me how daft our citizens are.
OP what were the comments like in reply to this? Was the legal advice group as harsh as they should’ve been?
Go back to Mississippi redneck
I mean, the Walmarts in Texas do random receipt scans now. Is that not happening everywhere else? What does this person do there?
Brit here. In the UK as well if you walk in and have a bag, normally full of goods and you want to put their goods in it, there are signs up everywhere that says they have the right to check you haven’t put Aldi’s and Lidls goods in there while you walked around in order to shoplift.
They usually do a quick shuftie, and that’s it. Of course flying off the handle in rage normally indicates you have a guilty conscious especially as passing through the stores doors, you are agreeing to the BIG SIGNS ON THE WALLS AS YOU ENTER stating the fact you give them the right to check you are not sticking their gear in your half full shopping bags as you waddle your ass around.
If they had pulled an EMPTY bag out to use, no issues.
Typical American in an another country arrogance.
This belongs on r/Idiocracy
Too many Americans going around the world saying “I know my rights” when they are only American “rights.” Those “rights” are what people from other countries come to America to receive.
You’d think the least we can do when teaching people their “rights” is to explain to them that they only apply in America. But then again, that’d be asking a lot of our American education system.