Plastic or Nothing?

F. Huffman & D. Savant in DH

Asking for bags at a Paris grocery store (La Grande Epicerie aside) can feel a lot like pulling teeth--deeply rooted, French teeth. You hold your breath as the checker eyes your groceries--trying to eyeball the bare minimum of bags needed to carry your bananas and yogurt home in one piece--before doling them out begrudgingly, one by one.
Walking down the street later with your coveted sacs--especially if they're brightly colored Monoprix bags--you can't help feeling a bit triumphant. You can already see their pink glow lining your bathroom wastepaper basket or enveloping your bathing suit after tomorrow's swim.
But now all that is ending. Later this month, Monoprix will no longer be giving customers plastic bags at checkout. So it's back to buying drab army-green trash bags--or splurging at Fauchon when you're in need of some sacs en rose.