In Paris, some entrepreneurs are faced with the ruins of their existence: After protests by left-wing and left-wing extremist groups on Saturday, masked demonstrators looted shops over the weekend - including in the trendy Paris shopping district of Marais.
Employees at a fashion boutique in the area told a Business Insider reporter that the situation during the riots was “dystopian.” At some point tear gas entered the store. Even that apparently didn't deter all customers: some continued to look around the store, the employees reported.
The police were heavily present on the street throughout Saturday. Although the boutique hired additional security personnel, it ultimately decided to close early in view of the increasing violence.
Not all shops in Paris got off so lightly. Anyone cycling through the city on Sunday followed a trail of destruction the closer they got to the Place de la République. Some of the most violent riots took place on Saturday where the 3rd, 10th and 11th arrondissements meet.
The owner of a gold buying shop whose window was smashed said she had to close early on Saturday. "I got a call. It was my neighbor who worked at the restaurant next door. He had been filming a group of young people," she said. They broke open the door and “smashed everything to pieces”.
“They stole things,” she said. “When I came back, they had taken everything.”
In a branch of Nicolas, one of the best-known wine retail chains in France, the shop windows and the front door were knocked out. Behind it stood emptied shelves, empty champagne cartons and broken glass lay on the floor.
Branches of large supermarket chains, electronics stores, bars and e-cigarette shops in Paris and other major cities were also looted or damaged during the riots.
Alexandre Bompard, chief executive of Carrefour, one of France's largest supermarket chains, said 50 of his group's stores across France were affected. The repair costs would amount to more than ten million euros. The destruction had “significant consequences for people and the economy” because franchise partners were forced to reduce the working hours of dozens of employees. This means that the so-called part-time unemployment benefit must also be claimed.
According to estimates by the French Association of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, more than 2,000 shops across the country may have been damaged or looted. By Sunday evening, around 1,500 cases had been recorded, association president Alain Di Crescenzo told broadcaster RTL. He estimated the damage at hundreds of millions of euros.
There was no sign of the riots in Montmatre
However, the violence did not affect Parisians equally. In the Montmartre district, popular with artists and tourists, life went on as usual despite the protests. The terraces were full of people, people enjoying their weekend and there was the usual hustle and bustle of the evening.
A bartender at a popular Irish pub on the boulevard, just a few doors from the Moulin Rouge, said that evening was particularly busy. She didn't experience any trouble and the guests were overall "very polite".
But when many other Parisians stepped outside on Sunday morning under cool air and blue skies, they saw a different picture: smashed shop windows and destroyed ATMs, broken glass, littered streets and burned-out cars.
At the same time, there were signs that the city was beginning to recover from the riots. Craftsmen were already busy making repairs at an employment agency that had been broken into. Volunteers swept the streets.
As Paris tries to get back on its feet, Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire announced government aid for local business people. He requested the establishment of a “crisis team to support business people” that would help them with insurance issues and dealing with authorities.
"You fill Paris with life every day. Today it is Paris's turn to stand by you," he said.
