France Learns to Shop Online; Nation Now Leads Continent in Internet Purchasing.

Byline: Ross Tieman

May 16--Few people have such strong herd instincts as the French. In a bison stampede comparable with the yearly rush to the beaches, France has finally hooked up to the internet and belatedly discovered online shopping.

During the first three months of this year, France's 20 biggest internet retailers notched up sales of E545 million (UKpound 366 million, $654 million), a rise of 62 percent year-on-year. According to the trade group, the Association pour le Commerce et les Services en Ligne, total online sales in that period were double