{"id":1282302,"date":"2022-02-08T15:23:58","date_gmt":"2022-02-08T20:23:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1282302"},"modified":"2022-02-08T15:24:12","modified_gmt":"2022-02-08T20:24:12","slug":"novel-approach-to-build-back-better-belgian-socialists-would-ban-online-shopping-wants-real-shops-instead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/novel-approach-to-build-back-better-belgian-socialists-would-ban-online-shopping-wants-real-shops-instead\/","title":{"rendered":"Novel Approach to Build Back Better: Belgian Socialists Would Ban Online Shopping, Wants \u2018Real Shops\u2019 Instead"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">32<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fnovel-approach-to-build-back-better-belgian-socialists-would-ban-online-shopping-wants-real-shops-instead%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1282302&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p class=\"subheading\">The president of the French-speaking Socialist Party has called for an end to e-commerce in Belgium, saying that he wants \u2018real shops\u2019 to operate in the country instead.<\/p>\n<p>Paul Magnette, who serves as the president of the Francophone Socialist Party in Belgium and is a former Minister-President of Belgian region Wallonia, has called for the central European state to be one of the first without e-commerce, saying that he wants a return to \u201creal shops\u201d instead.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"gmxrevmore\" class=\"H\"><\/figure>\n<p>The radical suggestion has led to widespread criticism, with one right-leaning politician criticising Magnette for suggesting that Belgium turns the 19th century into a social project.<\/p>\n<p>The policy is a radical re-imagining of the much-discussed \u2018build back better\u2019 that Western countries are expected to undergo post-pandemic, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/europe\/2020\/11\/10\/amazon-booms-as-lockdown-crushes-british-small-business\/\">where e-commerce retailers like Amazon have further entrenched their massive commercial power during lockdowns while local shops have suffered worse than ever.&nbsp;<\/a><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_19804570\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/GettyImages-1228800237-e1644324721283-2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-19804570 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/GettyImages-1228800237-e1644324721283-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1108\" height=\"830\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">PS chairman Paul Magnette \/ BELGA PHOTO DIRK WAEM (Photo by DIRK WAEM\/BELGA MAG\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>In an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.humo.be\/nieuws\/paul-magnette-en-thomas-dermine-laat-belgie-maar-het-eerste-land-zonder-e-commerce-worden~b4726f51\/\">interview<\/a> with Belgian publication&nbsp;<em>Humo<\/em>, Magnette denounced the alleged dangers of online shopfronts, putting particular emphasis on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/worklife\/article\/20171208-what-working-through-the-dead-of-night-does-to-your-body\">health risks<\/a> night work poses.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t think e-commerce is progress, but social and ecological degradation. Why do we have to let workers work in those warehouses at night?\u201d Magnette <a href=\"https:\/\/www.humo.be\/nieuws\/paul-magnette-en-thomas-dermine-laat-belgie-maar-het-eerste-land-zonder-e-commerce-worden~b4726f51\/\">said<\/a> during the interview with the Belgian news outlet.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCan we really not wait two days for a book?\u201d Magnette \u2014 who also serves as&nbsp;Mayor of Charleroi \u2014 asked the interviewer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOrder pickers and couriers are so rushed that they barely have time for a bathroom break. If we don\u2019t act, they will be the long-term sick of tomorrow,\u201d the politician continued. \u201cNight work is terribly bad for your health. You should limit this to areas where it is strictly necessary, for example at the police and in hospitals.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When asked about the risk of online shopping giants setting up abroad, Magnette was not receptive to the issue, arguing that it didn\u2019t really matter, and he would rather Belgium return to a system of \u201creal shops\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLet Belgium become a country without e-commerce, with real shops and vibrant cities,\u201d Magnette told the tabloid.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B3\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cOur clothing shops and bookstores are finding it increasingly difficult to compete with the Amazons and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2018\/05\/16\/amazon-alexa-exec-jim-freeman-joins-amazon-exec-departures.html\">Zalandos<\/a>,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Amazon revealed plans to equip its delivery vans with high-tech surveillance cameras, now workers are arguing that the cameras are not only an invasion of privacy but a safety hazard also. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/JCOxFmVjfA\">https:\/\/t.co\/JCOxFmVjfA<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BreitbartNews\/status\/1431965247615680514?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 29, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p>Magnette\u2019s comments have earned him widespread criticism in Belgium, including from one outspoken conservative politician who accused the French-speaking socialist of suggesting that the 19th century be turned into a social project.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe 19th century cannot be a social project. Progress is an opportunity,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GLBouchez\/status\/1490724636723748865\">wrote<\/a> right-leaning senator&nbsp;Georges-Louis Bouchez online. \u201cYou have to have an open mind and the ability to adapt society for greater well-being.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cE-commerce should not be left to foreign countries. We would lose hundreds of millions and jobs,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B4\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<p>However, Magnette hit back at the member of the&nbsp;Reformist Movement politician, saying that it was him who was supporting 19th-century working conditions.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs far as I am concerned, I will always defend local trade and small independents,\u201d the Belgian socialist said <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/PaulMagnette\/status\/1490745913882652672\">in reply<\/a> to the post.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe president of the MR is free to defend Jeff Bezos, the Amazon model and its working conditions worthy of the [19th century],\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Historic Steel Bridge to be Dismantled Because it\u2019s too Small for Bezos Superyacht to Pass<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/imuvCCbmQq\">https:\/\/t.co\/imuvCCbmQq<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BreitbartLondon\/status\/1489660021776343042?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 4, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>As Belgians ponder a hypothetical future free from online e-commerce, neighbouring country the Netherlands is meanwhile hotly debating whether or not to egg Amazon founder Jeff Bezos\u2019 new superyacht.<\/p>\n<p>It comes as an iconic bridge in the country \u2014 known locally as De Hef \u2014 is set to be <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/europe\/2022\/02\/04\/historic-steel-bridge-to-be-dismantled-because-its-too-small-for-bezos-superyacht-to-pass\/\">partly dismantled<\/a> to allow the on-and-off world\u2019s richest man to transport his newly constructed vessel, which is too tall to fit under the national landmark, to the sea.<\/p>\n<p>While authorities in the country have reassured locals that they will benefit from the deconstruction, many have expressed anger at the measure, with nearly 17 thousand people at the time of writing responding to an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/events\/302570991844953\/?ref=newsfeed\">event<\/a> posted online calling for the egging of the vessel as it sails past the deconstructed bridge.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCalling all Rotterdammers, bring a box of (rotten) eggs or if you want to keep it vegan, tomatoes and let\u2019s throw them en masse to Jeff\u2019s superyacht when it sails through the Hef in Rotterdam,\u201d reads the description of the event.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRotterdam was built from the rubble by the people of Rotterdam, and we don\u2019t just take that apart for the phallus symbol of a megalomaniac billionaire,\u201d the event\u2019s description continues. \u201cNot without a fight!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The president of the French-speaking Socialist Party has called for an end to e-commerce in Belgium, saying that he wants \u2018real shops\u2019 to operate in the country instead. Paul Magnette, &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1282302","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1282302","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1282302"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1282302\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1282302"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1282302"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1282302"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}