Hassan, a shopkeeper in Paris, is still in shock. His tech and courier shop near the Place de la République was ransacked during the weekend's unrest. He describes being physically attacked and threatened with a wine bottle before being forced to flee. 'They attacked me physically and threatened to break a wine bottle on my head. I was forced to abandon my business,' he told European Pulse.
Hassan, a father of three, arrived in France from Bangladesh in 2010. After years of working in hospitality, he and a business partner opened their shop in 2016. 'About 10 years ago, we built this place up gradually, bit by bit,' he said. Now, the shop is a shell of what it was. Smashed phones, empty delivery parcels, and glass litter the floor. 'This was once my workspace, but now there's nothing there. I have not slept since it all happened,' he lamented from behind the counter where he used to greet customers.
The looting occurred on 17 October, when a largely peaceful protest against rising costs and school conditions was overshadowed by violence. While many demonstrators marched peacefully, groups of looters targeted businesses across the city, from small shops to major supermarkets. Hassan's shop was among the hardest hit.
A helpless return
Following official advice, Hassan had locked up his shop on Saturday afternoon. Hours later, checking his security camera app, he saw around 30 people inside. 'I thought, how is this possible?' He rushed back, but police initially refused to let him through the security perimeter. Only after he showed them live footage of the destruction did they allow him access. But when he arrived, there were no police in sight, and he was powerless to stop the ongoing theft.
Footage obtained by European Pulse shows looters breaking into an adjacent apartment building, where one of the shop's entrances is located. Neighbours pleaded with them to stop but were ignored. 'There was a mix of young girls and boys. Some looked 15 years old. There was a constant stream, once a group had finished stealing, a new one would arrive,' Hassan said. The looters stole phones, tech, and parcels, even ransacking the basement storeroom.
Hassan is now waiting for insurance assessments, but he cannot begin cleaning up. He still has to pay rent, bills, and his employees. A local courier worker who had delivered many of the stolen packages told European Pulse that some businesses are in an even worse state. 'We just want to make a living and do our job with honesty. Others want to destroy everything.'
Across the street, an Intermarché supermarket remains closed after being plundered. Workers have spent days clearing glass and restocking shelves. Some hard-left activists have expressed tolerance for looting major supermarkets, viewing them as symbols of capitalism, but the courier worker rejects that logic: 'It's not justifiable. It's the same, it's all destroyed.'
In response, local worker Noam set up a crowdfunding page for Hassan, which has already raised thousands of euros. 'We know Hassan because he helps us with deliveries and other tasks regularly. He's someone we're used to working with. We are trying to help as much as we can, because there is a huge amount of work to be done, but we want to get through all of this with a community spirit,' Noam said.
The French government has announced emergency financial aid and structural relief for affected businesses. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said on Monday that companies hit by the unrest could put staff on activité partielle, France's state-funded furlough scheme, starting Tuesday. The weekend's violence followed four weeks of largely peaceful student protests against deteriorating conditions in French schools. Human rights organisations have accused law enforcement of using excessive force, particularly with rubber-bullet launchers (LBDs) and stun grenades.
France has since imposed curfews in many areas and increased security ahead of planned protests on 24 October. The government has also announced the deployment of military forces alongside police to maintain public order. As the city begins to assess the damage, stories like Hassan's highlight the human cost of the unrest. For more on the aftermath, see our coverage of Parisians surveying the wreckage and the damage tally across French cities. The government is also demanding resale sites purge looted goods.
