French retailers and shopkeepers grapple with damage after nationwide looting erupts

Protests over the cost of living spread across France on Saturday and escalated into widespread looting, as masked individuals forced entry into supermarkets, luxury stores and bars in Paris and cities such as Lyon, Marseille, Bordeaux, Rennes, Strasbourg, Grenoble, Nice and Limoges. Major chains including Carrefour, Franprix, Monoprix and an Intermarché Express were among the targets, with Carrefour Group chairman Alexandre Bompard confirming roughly 50 shops hit, 19 of them Carrefour locations, and estimating repair bills of more than ten million euros and reduced hours for dozens of staff.

A shop owner near Place de la République said the raid wiped out his savings, prompting a neighbor to start a fundraiser. Paris mayor Emmanuel Grégoire pledged full support and created an emergency task force to evaluate damage and assist with insurance procedures. One outlet journalists were assaulted while covering the looting, and Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez reported over 2,000 arrests and injuries to more than 600 police, gendarmes and firefighters. The unrest underscores mounting social tension and its economic toll on French retail.