After the looting: French fashion stores lose up to 84 percent of sales
On the 17 October protest day, fashion retailers' sales fell 14 percent nationwide, according to trade body Alliance du Commerce – and by 84 percent in Clermont-Ferrand.
Photo: Diego Delso / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized)
Video: YouTube · FRANCE 24 English · youtube.com
The protests against the high cost of living on Saturday, 17 October, hit France's fashion retail sector hard. According to figures from Alliance du Commerce, which represents department stores and major clothing chains, average sales at fashion stores fell 14 percent nationwide that day. City-centre shops were down 34 percent and shopping centres 40 percent. Clermont-Ferrand was hit hardest at minus 84 percent, followed by Saint-Étienne at minus 79 and Grenoble at minus 77 percent. In the west, Brest, Tours, Rennes and Nantes reported declines of between 66 and 74 percent.
In Paris, sales fell by 27 percent on average, though the picture varied widely by district. The République–Grands Boulevards–Haut Marais area was worst affected at minus 59 percent, the Champs-Élysées fell 45 percent, and the Opéra–Madeleine–Haussmann department store district 32 percent. According to trade outlet FashionNetwork, stores including Decathlon, Intersport, Snipes and Nocibé were looted or damaged in Paris and Bordeaux, and windows were smashed at Galeries Lafayette.
On Monday the government announced support for around 3,000 affected businesses: a dedicated fund, interest-free cash-flow assistance and a longer deadline for insurance claims – 30 days instead of five. Alliance du Commerce also welcomed a fully funded furlough scheme from Tuesday and called for calm and security to be restored in city centres. Broadcaster France 24 reports in a video on how French retailers are coping with the aftermath of the weekend of unrest.