After escalation of violence in France - looters apparently tried to sell goods online

After the serious riots in several French cities, reports emerged on social networks that looted goods had been offered on the sales platform “Vinted”. The British newspaper “Daily Mail” reported on this, citing screenshots, user tips and postings on social media (TikTok).

According to this, electronic goods, clothing, sneakers, video games, cosmetics and perfume, among other things, are said to have been offered at noticeably low prices and in large quantities. Screenshots that the newspaper published as evidence showed entire table tops or bags full of cosmetics from the trendy brand “Sephora”. Brand new football jerseys with tags were also on display.

In press photos and online videos showing the riots and looting, the mostly young rioters could be seen carrying stacks of jerseys from the stores - or entire cardboard pallets full of cosmetics. According to the report, some of the vendors even bragged about the origin of their goods. At X, for example, there were videos circulating in which the “loot” was proudly presented.

The stolen goods were also presented uninhibitedly on online platforms. According to the Daily Mail, a sweater was described as “stolen during the protests.” Other providers even named the cities from which the “goods” came: for example, in one offer it was said that the goods came from a “protest in Lyon”, while elsewhere the date “October 17th” was included in the offer line.

However, these reports and postings cannot be independently verified. In addition, the suspected offers were apparently only online for a short time and then quickly disappeared again. It also remains unclear whether these were actually items stolen during the riots.

When asked by the Daily Mail, the “Vinted” platform said it would immediately remove offers that violated the terms of use or gave rise to suspicion of illegal activity.

More than 3,000 stores were vandalized and robbed during the protests and riots across the country, writes the AFP agency. French authorities imposed curfews in parts of several cities on Monday. Paris, Lille and Nice were among those affected.