Commerce, banking and insurance leaders meet in Paris to address recent shop vandalism

In response to a wave of vandalism that affected thousands of shops across several French cities, Minister of Commerce Serge Papin held a conference at the Ministry's Bercy headquarters on Monday morning. Attendees included federations for merchants, artisans, restaurants, hotels, as well as the French banking federation and the insurers' association. The session will produce an inventory of physical damage, evaluate the hit to economic activity and outline possible support actions for affected businesses.

Retail bodies such as the Fédération du commerce et de la distribution and other sectoral groups urged the government to simplify and accelerate insurance claim processes, citing the need for rapid compensation akin to that provided after natural catastrophes. A separate emergency business council is scheduled for Tuesday with ministers of Labour and Economy to further discuss relief measures.