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Paris Cost-of-Living Protests Turn to Riots, Looting of Restaurants and Stores
ReParis Cost-of-Living Protests Turn to Riots, Looting of Restaurants and Stores
A McDonald's near Gare de l'Est was ransacked and a neighborhood café was burned out as demonstrations over the rising cost of living in Paris escalated into widespread looting and violence targeting food businesses, grocery stores and a wine shop. Curfews were issued in two places and several European governments advised travelers to avoid large crowds.
A McDonald's in Paris was ransacked and heavily damaged after cost-of-living protests turned into riots and looting that hit restaurants, cafés and grocery stores across the French capital, with curfews now issued in two locations. The fast-food outlet on Boulevard de Magenta near Gare de l'Est had its windows smashed and suffered extensive interior damage, according to accounts of the unrest.
Computer screens inside the restaurant were damaged, and an ice cream machine continued spilling vanilla onto a ketchup-covered floor. A security guard said intruders even tried to cook french fries before a man and his dog drove roughly 20 people out of the building. The chain did not immediately comment on the vandalism.
The American-based fast-food business was far from the only food establishment caught up in the destruction. A neighborhood café was burned out, a wine shop was destroyed and supermarkets were among the businesses targeted as unrest swept Paris. Among the hardest-hit was La Barrique, a café near Place de la République that was burned out. The son of the café's owners said his mother was inside when the business was attacked and was later taken to a hospital with a head injury.
Grocery stores were hit hard as well. Franprix, Monoprix, Picard and Carrefour City locations were among the retailers targeted during the unrest. At a Franprix on Rue Beaurepaire near Place de la République, shelves were emptied and products were either stolen or crushed on the floor. Looters elsewhere were seen leaving supermarkets carrying bags filled with food, juice and alcohol. An Intermarché Express on Boulevard de Magenta was also looted, and a reporting crew said they were assaulted by masked individuals near the supermarket.
A Nicolas wine shop on Boulevard de Magenta was destroyed, with shattered bottles and wine covering the area outside the store. The destruction followed demonstrations over the rising cost of living and other grievances, and it reflects tensions that extend well beyond the French capital, according to Olivia Ostrow, a French-born restaurateur who now operates Maison Ostrow in South Florida.
Ostrow, who was born in Paris, expressed concern about what she described as rising antisemitism and the role of social media in fueling hostility. She argued that some demonstrators have embraced political causes without fully understanding the history behind them.
Reaction online focused on the toll on ordinary residents. «Let me say it, the ones suffering the consequences are ordinary French people, not the government,» one person wrote. «It's ordinary citizens who will pay for this, whose cars were burned, whose businesses and homes were looted, and whose physical integrity were threatened.» Another wrote: «These are not protests anymore.»
Several European governments are now advising travelers to France to avoid large crowds and exercise caution during their stay. The curfews in two places and the travel advisories signal how quickly the unrest has moved from street demonstrations into a broader disruption of daily commerce and public safety in the capital.
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