Paris Shopping

The French are quite serious about cracking down on counterfeit goods of their luxury brands. As someone mentioned in response to another of your questions elsewhere, acquiring a knock-off could get you in trouble with customs upon departure.

If you are referring to Longchamps Le PliageI totes, I have purchased mine at CDG when leaving .... No VAT added there so it's less than in the stores. I have purchased both the nylon and the wonderful heavier canvas. The Eiffel Tower edition I have only seen in Paris. The totes are cheaper in the stores than the U.S. The duty free stores at the airports generally don't have as large is a selection...I have just been lucky. With the dollar as strong as it's been it can be a decent deal.

You'll find way more knockoffs when you get to Italy.

You'll find way more knockoffs when you get to Italy.

But they're illegal to buy there as well, and you'd run the same risk at customs. Florence had signs posted around the outdoor market near San Lorenzo/Mercado Centrale warning tourists about breaking the law by purchasing fake goods.

It seems you are allowed to import one counterfit item for personal use and not resale. Customs Directive No. 2310-011A

You can find them in every large city being openly sold on the street so I don't think buying them is a problem.

I don't get the point of carrying a fake of a super-expensive handbag anyway. Unless you have all the accoutrements of the wealthy, i..e., the expensive car with or without a driver, the costly jewellery, the high-maintenance hairdo, the high-heeled shoes to die for, etc., and the attitude to match, then everyone knows the bag is not the real thing.

As far as I've read, there actually are laws against purchasing counterfeits in Italy and France, and the items can be confiscated by customs and fines issued. The signs in Florence read, in English, "It is against the law to buy fake goods." I took a snap of one of those.