Late-night clashes and shop looting erupt across Paris on Sunday

Following a day of citywide protests, Paris experienced a fresh wave of unrest on Sunday night. The Prefecture of Police recorded 108 arrests, with the majority occurring after dark, and documented at least five looted establishments, including a clothing shop, a Darty store in Belleville, and two supermarkets. In the Châtelet/Les Halles district, scattered groups of masked youths threw glass bottles, broke the entrance of the historic BHV Marais department store and shattered the window of an Afflelou optics shop near the Pompidou Museum.

Police forces, including the CRS 8 unit, responded with tear gas, flash-bang grenades, and a water cannon as clashes spread to the République square, where hundreds of demonstrators engaged in prolonged fighting, setting up barricades and attempting further lootings. Mayor Ariel Weil posted a message urging remaining merchants to protect their businesses, even if that meant closing them. Outside the capital, the situation stayed calm except for a disturbance at the Rosny 2 shopping centre in Seine-Saint-Denis, where police dispersed a group of about fifty people.