Department stores, luxury boutiques, and sportswear chains across France were targeted by looting and vandalism on Saturday.

Retailers across France experienced widespread looting and property damage on Saturday as unrest spread through major cities. Department stores, luxury boutiques, and sportswear chains were targeted, with businesses reporting smashed windows, stolen merchandise, and fire damage. Alexandre Bompard, president of the Federation of Commerce and Retail, condemned the violence, while local officials described extensive destruction in urban shopping districts.

Impact on Major Retailers

Galeries Lafayette reported incursions at locations in Paris, Chambéry, Nantes, Perpignan, Rennes, and Tours, with its Bordeaux store suffering the most significant damage. The company stated that the violence overwhelmed security measures and forced early closures across its network. While most locations were scheduled to reopen the following day, the Bordeaux store remained closed until Monday afternoon due to the extent of the damage. In Bordeaux, a Decathlon store was looted and set on fire, with flames damaging the building's facade. Other retailers in the city, including an Apple Store and an Intersport, were also targeted. In Paris, an Intersport store was looted, and a Céline boutique on Avenue Montaigne was ransacked. Reports and social media footage indicated that a Christian Dior boutique on Rue Saint-Honoré and a Louis Vuitton store in Marseille were also broken into, alongside reports of a ransacked Rolex store.

Official Response and Context

Paris Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire described the destruction as methodical, noting that entire streets had been ravaged. He distinguished these criminal acts from the broader protest movement. The violence occurred during a three-day open-doors event hosted by the luxury group LVMH, which had planned to welcome the public to 71 locations worldwide to showcase craftsmanship. Representatives for the luxury brands involved in the looting reports could not be reached for comment.