New restrictions cause fury in Palma

From Tuesday, December 29, all bars, cafes and restaurants must close at 18:00 and shops, small businesses, petrol stations and supermarkets, except those that affect essential activity, must close at 20:00.

Shopping malls and centres with areas of more than 700 metres will not be allowed to open on weekends or on holidays, so they will be closed on January 1, 2, 3, 6, 9 and 10.

Supermarkets employer ANGED has blasted the decision to close shops on two of the biggest weekends of the year, saying it will be counterproductive.

ANGED has stressed that it doesn’t object to the earlier closing time or the capacity restrictions in stores and car parks but warned that closing on those two weekends is a big mistake.

It means that people won’t be able to do their shopping for the Three Kings Day holiday until January 4 and 5, so there will be a lot more people in the shops on those days than there would be if the shops were open on January 2 and 3.