Shopping around the world

France: with the arrival of the euro, the French are using hoarded francs to buy extra-special Christmas gifts. Perfumes, watches, jewellery, lingerie and Harry Potter merchandise are the favourites.

Italy: all the shops are closing late and staying open seven days a week but it is still not enough to make consumers part with their money, with spending said to be down £1billion compared to last year. The faltering world economy is making Italian shoppers insecure but retailers are hoping that a last-minute sales rally will will pull them out of the fire.

Spain: Spaniards are on a spending spree, with some analysts predicting record sales this Christmas in a buoyant consumer market that is up by more than two per cent over the festive spree last year. Both small and large amounts of illegal pesetas not declared to escape the tax man must be spent before the switch to the euro.

Germany: Christmas is gloomy in recession-poised Germany, with workers being laid off, traditional yuletide bonuses halted and warnings of worse to come. But spending their way out of depression seems to be the order of the day.