PARIS, July 20 (UPI) -- The renowned Parisian department store, La Samaritaine, is closing its doors for six years of construction, but workers fear it will close for good.
Like Harrods in London, the 135-year-old store is a historical marker in Paris. Its name was borrowed from a water pump ornament on the city's Pont-Neuf bridge, depicting a woman from Samaria, the ancient Israeli capital.
La Samaritain's owners, the luxury company LVMH, say the work is necessary to make the building secure after it failed a recent safety inspection by Paris police.
But France's biggest union, the CGT workers union, has decried the decision as the "worst scenario."
Samaritaine employees are expected to find out what kind of future they have with the store on Friday.
