In a small shop in Paris’ 10th arrondissement, a stone’s throw from Place de la République, Mia Hasen stands among broken glass and rubble.
“Ten years of my life in Paris were shattered in 30 minutes,” he says.
Last Saturday, he chose to keep the store he has run for a decade closed because of the demonstration. On surveillance footage afterward, he saw people smashing the windows, storming the store and looting everything of value. Half an hour later, the store was unrecognizable.
“The demonstration itself went well; it was peaceful. It was after it ended that the looters came,” says Mia Hasen.
Additional security measures
Mia Hasen’s store was one of 228 looted in the city last weekend, according to police. Ahead of Saturday’s demonstration, police and authorities have taken precautions against possible unrest.
French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez announced on Friday that 70,000 security forces would be deployed across the country, equipped with armored vehicles and water cannons. Some areas of the French capital will be completely closed off for the day, as will several museums, including the Louvre.
Along several streets and boulevards in central Paris, people are covering shop windows.
“It’s a precaution. We will be open tomorrow,” says a man putting up plywood panels over the storefront windows with glue and a hammer drill.
“But you never know,” he adds.
“Important to demonstrate”
Esteban Leroux-Guide is at Place de la République on Friday afternoon. He thinks it is important to show his discontent and has himself participated in several student-led protests.
“When large numbers of people are in the same place for the same reason, it can send a clear signal of our dissatisfaction. It gives weight,” he says, adding:
“But it’s terrible to see stores smashed up. It destroys our entire movement.”
“We want to send a message, but when people break things and loot, it destroys our message,” says Esteban Leroux-Guide.
A woman on her way to a train, with a suitcase in tow, has similar thoughts:
“They are demonstrating for a good cause. The problem is those who come after and destroy.”
“I’m too old to demonstrate myself. I’m turning 80 soon,” she says.