Major businesses and local shop owners are recovering from widespread looting across France on Saturday, after cost-of-living protests spiralled into scenes of violence that saw masked individuals force their way into stores and make off with goods.
French authorities say shops were looted across cities including Lyon, Marseille, Bordeaux, Rennes, Strasbourg, Grenoble, Nice, and Limoges, as well as in the French capital, Paris.
Among the targets were major supermarket chains including Carrefour, Franprix, and Monoprix, as well as luxury boutiques, bars, and vape shops.
Groups of masked individuals, many dressed in black, paraded the streets, smashing windows and pulling at metal shutters until they gave way, before grabbing items from the shelves.
On Sunday morning, broken glass and litter filled the streets as Parisians emerged from their apartment blocks to be greeted by the aftermath of the destruction.
Alexandre Bompard, the Chairman and CEO of the Carrefour Group, said on Sunday that a “total of 50 shops” had been targeted, “including 19 Carrefour convenience stores and supermarkets.”
He said the affected locations included premises in Paris, Rennes, Lille, and Bordeaux, among others.
“My thoughts are also with the 1,500 shops belonging to all the other retail chains and with all the shopkeepers who have suffered the same unacceptable violence,” Bompard continued, adding that the destruction would have “considerable human and economic consequences.
“Dozens of employees at our franchise partners will be forced onto short-time working,” he said. “The cost of the repairs will run to well over ten million euros.”
One store owner near the Place de la République whose shop had been wrecked by rioters told the Brut outlet that he had put all his savings into the business and that he felt like he’d lost everything.
“I don’t know how I’ll get by or how I’ll live with my family,” he said.
Brut said a neighbour had decided to set up a fundraiser to help the man get back on his feet.
Paris Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire has also pledged to offer his full support to businesses affected in the capital and announced that he had requested the creation of an “emergency task force to support shopkeepers who have been victims of vandalism.”
“Its role will be to assess the damage, support affected shopkeepers, and assist them with administrative and insurance procedures,” he said. “You bring Paris to life every day. Today, it’s Paris’ turn to stand by your side.”
Looters assault Euronews crew
A Euronews crew were assaulted by looters in Paris on Saturday, near the Place de la République, as they reported on the situation.
The crew were making their way to another location when they were confronted by masked individuals looting a nearby Intermarché Express supermarket.
“We were standing on Boulevard de Magenta, not far from a supermarket that was being looted by young people, young adults, teenagers. When they saw we were filming, they started hitting my cameraman and attempted to take his microphone and they encircled us,” Estelle Nilsson-Julien, Euronews’ correspondent in Paris, said.
“They then pushed him against the wall and started hitting and punching him. They also hit me. They punched him in the face, but because he was wearing goggles and a mask, he was not harmed,” she added.
A march moving along the Boulevard de Clichy towards the Place de Clichy across the other side of Paris remained peaceful, another Euronews journalist on the ground reported.
French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said in an update on Sunday that more than 600 police officers, gendarmes, and firefighters had been injured on Saturday, with more than 2,000 people arrested.
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