Looters smashed their way into Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior and Rolex stores during a weekend of violence across France, stripping shelves and leaving luxury goods strewn across damaged shops.
Videos from Marseille appeared to show dozens of hooded young men forcing their way into a Louis Vuitton outlet, with some filming as a metal gate was rammed into the glass frontage. Later footage showed debris across the floor and the shop largely emptied.
A Christian Dior store in Paris was also shown with its glass door shattered and luxury items scattered inside. In Marseille, Rolex watches were reportedly taken from their packaging, while graffiti was daubed across damaged shopfronts.
The unrest has spread beyond the initial protests over France’s crumbling education system, drawing in groups including the Yellow Vests, or Gilets Jaunes, who previously caused widespread disruption over an increase in diesel taxes.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez highlighted what he described as the “significant mobilization of the far-Left movement” among the rioters. He said radical groups involved included Antifa, the New Anticapitalist Party and Permanent Revolution.
Nearly 2,400 people were arrested over the weekend and 1,000 police officers were wounded, as disorder continued in towns and cities across the country.
In one incident, a woman was filmed pleading with rioters not to loot a supermarket. She asked, “why are you doing this” and shouted, “this is not the cause”, before a group of young men pushed past her into the damaged shop.
The crowd appeared to cheer as masked looters emerged carrying stolen goods. In Nice, a comic book shop owner was also filmed confronting people who appeared to have broken into his business, before being knocked to the ground and kicked in the back.
Other footage showed looting at the Lille Olympique Sporting Club and an SFR mobile phone shop in Paris. Businesses, public buildings and town halls were among the properties damaged during the unrest.
In Limoges, the town hall, built in 1883 and associated with the French Resistance during the Second World War, was shown engulfed in flames before its bell tower collapsed. A tourist office in Lyon was also set alight, while masked youths reportedly broke into Marseille’s City Hall and vandalised a statue of Marianne, the personification of the French Republic.
There was fighting in Paris around the Place de la République and near the Gare du Nord Eurostar hub. The violence followed weeks of protests over the cost of living, education standards and President Emmanuel Macron’s government, with police earlier admitting they had “lost control”.
Addressing the nation on Sunday night, Mr Macron called for unity and vowed to tackle the disorder. “Businesses have been looted, while public buildings, shops, and town halls have been attacked,” he said. “Looking at these images, we have all asked ourselves how French people could do this to France.”
