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French protests over the education and the cost of living have turned into widespread looting of major luxury stores — with rioters hitting Louis Vuitton, Hermes, and Apple.
Some designer brands, such as Dior, have reportedly hired private security teams to protect their stores in Paris after French police appeared to lose control of the streets of the capital.
More than 1,800 people have been arrested and President Emmanuel Macron addressed the nation, vowing to track down the looters who are trying to “bring down the Republic.”
Mobs looted the Galeries Lafayette — a luxury department store in Paris akin to Bergdorf Goodman or Harrods — with gangs of masked thugs seen smashing storefronts and raiding shelves on Saturday.
A picture showing a robust private security crew hired to protect a flagship Dior store in Paris went viral online.
In Marseille, looters targeted luxury brand Hermes, as well as stores selling jewelry, makeup and clothes.
Fire crews in the city said they had to put out a blaze that began in a designer shoe store.
In Bordeaux, a masked crowd was seen breaking down the doors to a Louis Vuitton store, as a parade of protesters waved red flags with hammer and sickle signs along the street.
In Lille, an Apple store was vandalized and looted, while in Nice, sportswear outlets and a motorcycle dealership were stormed.
Unrest broke out in France several weeks ago ostensibly as a student protest, but quickly devolved into an orgy of looting and riots.
Many other groups, including leftists and pro-Palestinian fanatics, have also used the riots as an excuse to force their agendas.
Dior had no faith in the French police to protect their store so they brought in their own security team to protect the flagship store in Paris tonight pic.twitter.com/aShDIzBeHS
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) October 17, 2026
Some 1,800 people were arrested on Saturday nationwide, while more than 500 cops were injured.
Rioters have also targeted France’s cultural heritage, with thugs torching the 140-year-old city hall in the southern city of Limoges, while Lyon’s tourist office was also set on fire.
Addressing the nation on Sunday, French President Macron said that “nothing justifies” the violence his country has seen this weekend.
“Tonight, we all feel anger and shame,” Macron said in the televised address, drawing a distinction between protesters with “legitimate demands” and “those who destroyed, smashed and looted.”
He said the looters “will have to pay back for the damage, and those who sought to bring down the Republic will be held accountable.”
Macron blamed the “unrestrained violence” on “insurrectionist elements from radical far-left groups, joined by numerous criminals.”
It comes after Vice President J.D. Vance blamed mass immigration for the violent scenes in France.
“Western liberals imported the Third World into France and other countries in the name of diversity and compassion. They ignored fundamental questions of assimilation and compatibility. They were told it would lead to this, and they didn’t listen,” he wrote on X.
“I pray that France, a beautiful country of amazing people, will stop this madness before more of its landmarks burn,” Vance added.