Retailers France Italy Tally Protest Losses Before Holidays
Retailers in France and Italy curtailed hours or shut stores during a second round of protests, while businesses assessed lost sales and security costs ahead…
PARIS — Retailers France Italy tally the cost of lost business after a second round of protests led stores to close early, shorten hours or reinforce shopfronts on Saturday. The disruptions came as businesses prepared for the holiday season, with French retailers also facing repair costs linked to damage from the Oct. 17 marches.
The marches were mostly peaceful, with isolated outbreaks of violence, according to WWD. Retailers nevertheless took precautions that reduced trading hours and added security expenses. The effects were felt in both countries, although the source report details specific store closures and crowd figures in France.
“Compared with last Saturday, yesterday was a relief. But the precautions taken to protect shops and their staff are having an impact on business,” Judith Jiguet, executive director of the French Retail Federation, said in a statement Sunday.
Her assessment captures the immediate cost for businesses: lost sales during a key shopping period, alongside the expense of securing premises and repairing damage. For shoppers, shortened hours and closures meant some familiar stores were unavailable or operating for less time.
French stores changed hours and security plans
Apple closed all three of its Paris stores on Saturday. LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, by contrast, said it planned to operate as usual. On the Avenue des Champs-Élysées, roughly half the stores had metal curtains or chipboard panels protecting their fronts.
Printemps closed its Lille store and cut hours at other locations. Its Nation branch in eastern Paris shut at 3 p.m., while the Boulevard Haussmann flagship closed 30 minutes early, at 7:30 p.m., a spokeswoman said. Stores in Marseille, Rouen, Nancy and Lyon also closed earlier than usual.
Galeries Lafayette kept all its locations open, but limited hours in Rennes, Perpignan, Caen, Toulon, Bordeaux, Clermont-Ferrand, Nantes and Toulouse, according to a spokeswoman. The French Retail Federation said its members include Galeries Lafayette Group, Decathlon, Carrefour, E.Leclerc and Monoprix.
“Shutting shop or erecting barricades cannot become the new normal. Retailers are essential to the life of our town centers: They must be able to rely on the public authorities to ensure their safety,” Jiguet said.
Authorities sought to protect retail districts
French authorities deployed 70,000 police officers and gendarmes, along with Sentinelle military personnel, elite units including the RAID and GIGN, helicopters and armored vehicles. Protests were banned in several cities, including Lyon and Marseille.
In Paris, police changed the route of the main demonstration organized by the CGT union at the last moment, saying the adjustment was needed to protect retailers. Businesses along the revised route, which ran from the south toward the east of the capital, had to secure their storefronts.
Estimates of the turnout varied. The CGT put attendance at 250,000 in Paris and 800,000 nationwide; the Interior Ministry estimated 110,000 in the capital and 410,000 across France. Both national estimates were slightly below the previous week’s figures, according to WWD.
As the march reached Cours de Vincennes in the late afternoon, the Interior Ministry reported that a group of 500 violent “troublemakers” clashed with police. The group threw objects including glass bottles; police used tear gas and water cannons.
The French Retail Federation said it remained “particularly vigilant” ahead of Nov. 5, when French unions have called for nationwide strikes. Retailers now face another date to plan around as they weigh opening hours and security arrangements.
Source: wwd.com
