What is âBlack Fridayâ?
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âBlack Fridayâ marque le dĂ©but de la saison des soldes de NoĂ«l aux Ătats-Unis. Cela commence le vendredi aprĂšs Thanksgiving. Les entreprises amĂ©ricaines ont des soldes de un Ă cinq jours avec dâĂ©normes remises (jusquâĂ 70 %).
âBlack Fridayâ marks the beginning of the holiday season sales in the United States. This begins the Friday after Thanksgiving. US companies offer one to five days with huge discounts ( up to 70% ).
Why âBlackâ Friday ?
âĂtre dans le rougeâ est une expression française et anglaise qui veut dire que vous perdez de lâargent : les anciens livres de comptes marquaient les comptes dĂ©biteurs en rouge. En anglais, le contraire âĂȘtre dans le noirâ signifie que votre entreprise fait un bĂ©nĂ©fice, les inscriptions Ă©tant alors en noir. Les soldes de âBlack Fridayâ permettent aux entreprises dâespĂ©rer terminer lâannĂ©e avec un profit.
âTo be in the redâ is a French and English expression meaning losing money: older accounting books wrote the debtors accounts in red. In English, the contrary while âto be in the blackâ means your business makes a profit, the writing being then in black. The sales of âBlack Fridayâ gives companies hope to finish the year with a profit.
Une autre explication est que pendant ces soldes, les rues sont ânoires de mondeâ.
Another explanation is that during these sales, street are black with people!
En 2013, environ 141 millions de consommateurs américains ont dépensé plus de 57 milliards de dollars durant Black Friday, avec les ventes en ligne atteignant 1,2 milliards de dollars (wikipedia)
In 2013, about 141 million American consumers spent over 57 billion dollars during Black Friday, with web sales reaching 1.2 billion dollars (wikipedia).

Is âBlack Fridayâ in France Translated as âVendredi Noirâ?
Que je sache, on ne dit pas du tout âvendredi noirâ pour âBlack Fridayâ en France. En effet, âune date + noirâ aurait une signification lugubre en français. De plus, les attaques terroristes de Paris en Novembre 2015 ont eu lieu un vendredi, et les mĂ©dias lâont appelĂ© âvendredi noirâ⊠Donc il pourrait y avoir confusion.
That I know of, we donât say âvendredi noirâ for âBlack Fridayâ in France. Actually, âa date + noirâ would have a gloomy meaning in French. Furthermore, the November 2015 Paris terrorist attacks took place on a Friday, and the media refer to it as âvendredi noirâ. So it could be confusing.
Historic of âBlack Fridayâ in France
Jâai commencĂ© Ă entendre parler de âBlack Fridayâ en France en 2015, et les promotions nâĂ©taient pas trĂšs importantes.
I began hearing about âBlack Fridayâ in Franceâ in 2015, and the sales were not very big.
Câest en 2017 que ces soldes ont atteint notre petite ville de campagne de Paimpol⊠Mais seulement les grandes enseignes font des soldes, pas les petits magasins.
Itâs in 2017 that this sale has reached our little countryside town of Paimpol⊠And only the large chains follow this sale, not the small stores.
Les noms utilisĂ©s pour dĂ©signer ces soldes sont souvent assez crĂ©atifs⊠âla Black Weekâ, âBlack Friday LunchesââŠ
The names used to describe this sale are often quite creative⊠âla Black Weekâ, âBlack Friday LunchesââŠ

âBlack Fridayâ Is a Mystery to The French
Comme les Français ne savent pas ce quâest Thanksgiving, je doutais que beaucoup dâentre eux comprennent ce que veut dire âBlack Fridayâ⊠Donc je suis allĂ©e les interviewer dans les rue de Paimpol, Bretagne, France.
Since French people donât know what Thanksgiving is, I doubted many of them understand what âBlack Fridayâ means⊠So I went to interview them in the streets of Paimpol, Brittany, France.
(Choose the French or English subtitles with the CC menu on YouTube)
What About âCyber Mondayâ in France ?
La mĂȘme chose est en train de se passer pour âCyber Mondayâ (solde de produits sur le web)⊠toutes les occasions sont bonnes pour essayer de vendre, aux US comme en France !
The same thing is happening for âCyber Mondayâ (sale for online products). All opportunities are good to try to sell in the US as well as in France!

Black Friday Sale French Vocabulary
- Les soldes = sales â masculine plural â (as discounted items) â but itâs a common mistake to think itâs feminine.
Say : des soldes exceptionnels (not des soldes exceptionnelles). - Watch out! âUn soldeâ also means a financial balance, and âla soldeâ is the payment for a soldier.
- Ătre en solde, soldĂ©(e/s) = to be on sale
- Une promotion (âune promoâ is the short version) = a sale for a special event (like Black Friday)
- Une remise = a discount
- Un rabais = a discount
- Ni repris, ni échangé = no return, no exchange (= all sales are final)
- Faire une bonne affaire = to get a bargain
- Faire les soldes = to shop the seasonâs sales
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You may also like my article about âThanksgiving in Franceâ.
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