Paris luxury boutiques board up and hire guards ahead of Saturday protests
Luxury stores in France boarded up shopfronts and added private security ahead of fresh protests on 24 October, after rioters looted hundreds of shops last weekend. Some, including a Rolex retailer and a De Beers store near Place Vendôme, planned to stay closed.
Luxury boutiques in France boarded up their shopfronts and hired private security ahead of fresh protests on Saturday, 24 October, with some planning to stay shut after rioters smashed and looted hundreds of shops in Paris, Marseille and Bordeaux last weekend, Reuters reported.
Closed or closing early
A Rolex retailer and a De Beers store near Place Vendôme planned to stay closed on Saturday, staff told Reuters, while Adidas and Boss stores on the Champs-Élysées posted closure signs and Swatch Group staff said they would shut early. A Lacoste store that suffered “enormous” damage last week was covered in metal cages. Staff at LVMH’s Louis Vuitton, Dior and Bulgari said security had been increased, and department store Printemps reinforced windows and entrances. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said 70,000 police would be deployed. The student union UNEF and the Yellow Vest movement plan to march through central Paris against high living costs and public-service cuts.
Pressure on luxury
The unrest adds to a tough season for the sector, with gloomy consumer sentiment and slowing tourism due to the Iran war behind disappointing results from LVMH, Hermès and Kering. Hermès said this week its looted Marseille boutique would not reopen “anytime soon”, Glossy reported.
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