People in France took to the streets to protest against rising living costs, but it quickly turned violent, with rioters targeting high-end retail locations and supermarkets across multiple cities. According to French newspaper Le Parisien, large groups of masked individuals broke through windows of stores and looted goods in cities like Paris, Marseille, Bordeaux, and Lille. The media outlet mentioned that an Apple store along with Louis Vuitton shops were targeted in Bordeaux, while another Apple outlet was looted in Lille. As per French news outlet Maritima, a Hermes boutique was ransacked by crowds in Marseille.
Photos and videos shared on social media platforms showed masked protesters breaking into stores and running away with expensive goods.
Apart from luxury stores, many supermarkets, clothing retailers, and pharmacies were also targeted. Public property was destroyed, with unruly groups attacking historic municipal buildings, including town halls in Lyon, Marseille, and a landmark building in Limoges. Scores of vehicles were set ablaze, and government offices were vandalised.
Also read | ‘She Only Had Hours’: Man Uses AI To Solve Mother’s Mysterious Illness
⚡️ France: Footage shows luxury Rolex and Louis Vuitton stores being looted during protests. https://t.co/TqLoQoPdoP
— War Monitor (@WarMonltor) October 18, 2026
Also read | Indian Teen Is The Only Known Patient With Tooth Growing Inside His Eye Socket
Around 550,000 people had participated in the demonstrations across the country, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said. According to news agency Reuters, some 1,200 people had been arrested. The CGT union told Reuters it estimated protesters at 800,000 people.
The UNSA police union posted a video on X showing crowds attacking police vans with clubs and bricks in multiple locations. “Today again, in every corner of France, our colleagues are being used as punching bags. Pelted with stones, injured, trapped in real ambushes,” the union said. “Let everyone take responsibility: this cannot go on indefinitely. The rope is stretched to its maximum.”
French President Emmanuel Macron vowed to punish people who had carried out the attacks. “We will all stand united against the sowers of chaos, who only seek to undermine our institutions and prevent those who peacefully express their demands from doing so,” he wrote in a post on X.
