Buying a launch day iPhone 15 in France is going to be even harder than usual, here's why
Apple Stores are going to be a problem for the French.
If you're planning on going to an Apple Store in France to buy an iPhone 15 or iPhone 15 Pro on launch day, maybe think again. It might not be a fun time at all.
The same goes for anyone buying an Apple Watch Series 9 or Apple Watch Ultra 2. Or anything else for that matter.
And while the Apple Store on new iPhone day can be a bit of a nightmare at the best of times, matters are going to be complicated after Unions representing French Apple Store employees called for strike action on Friday, September 22, and Saturday, September 23.
Industrial action in various forms
Bloomberg reports that a group of unions that includes CGT, Unsa, CFDT, and CFTC have requested a 7% increase in pay for their members to offset the effects of inflation. A statement from the group says that Apple won't comply, and that strike action is coming.
As for Apple, it says that it will agree to a 4.5% increase.
With strike action now seemingly unavoidable, it appears that it will take various forms across 20 stores. Some employees will stop working for a single hour which might not be that bad for customers, depending on when they do it.
Apple is no stranger to the threat of industrial action by its retail employees although this case is unusual in that it will directly affect what is arguably Apple's most important launch of the year. New iPhones and Apple Watches are big in terms of Apple Store footfall, not to mention sales. And with stores potentially impacted by walkouts, this is something that could well spill over and impact the ordinary person on the street who just wants to pick up a sweet new iPhone.
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Those who placed orders for home delivery will of course not be impacted by this strike action.
Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.
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FFR On Apple offered them 4.5%. If they strike on iPhone launch day, that’s a quick way to get fired. They probably shouldn’t have voted for macron again.Reply
French consumers can still order online and through carriers. -
FFR So that didn’t do anything.Reply
Good job French Apple Store workers, way to show Apple why they don’t need you.
Apple managed to sell out of all iPhone models, with the 15 pro and pro max not available until mid November.