Looting hits Louis Vuitton, Céline and Decathlon as unrest spreads across France

Louis Vuitton, Céline, Decathlon, Apple and a string of other retailers were looted and vandalised across France on Saturday 17 October, as unrest that began as a protest movement spread through major shopping streets. Damage ran from Paris to Marseille and Bordeaux.

In Marseille, a Louis Vuitton store was broken into and rioters were filmed leaving with bags and other goods. Reports also emerged of a Rolex store being ransacked. On Paris's Avenue Montaigne, the Céline store was ransacked, while videos on X showed a Christian Dior boutique on Rue Saint-Honoré being looted.

Louis Vuitton and Céline are both owned by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, the French group that also owns Dior. Louis Vuitton is known for its leather goods, ready-to-wear, accessories and footwear.

The brands did not respond to requests for comment. The unrest fell during a three-day LVMH open-doors event celebrating craftsmanship, with the group planning to welcome the public at 71 locations worldwide.

Elsewhere in Paris, individuals smashed the windows of an Intersport store and walked out carrying bags of merchandise. More than 300 people tried to move up the Avenue des Champs-Élysées, and police broke up the crowd with tear gas.

Paris Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire warned that the damage would be extensive and said entire streets had been "methodically ravaged". He condemned the destruction, but drew a distinction between the protest movement and the people responsible for the looting.

In Bordeaux, Rue Sainte-Catherine, the city's main shopping thoroughfare, suffered widespread damage. A Decathlon sporting goods store was looted and then set alight, and the fire reached the building's facade. AFP reported that an Apple Store, a Galeries Lafayette and an Intersport were also targeted.

Galeries Lafayette said its store network had incursions in Paris, Chambéry, Nantes, Perpignan, Rennes and Tours, with Bordeaux the worst affected. "The violence that marked Saturday, October 17, across France had significant consequences for the entire Galeries Lafayette store network," the retailer said.

The cost for retailers

Galeries Lafayette said it strongly condemned the looting, wanton destruction and behaviour that endangered employees and customers, and that nothing could justify it. Its priority was protecting staff and shoppers, and it praised employees for their professionalism in securing stores across the country.

The retailer said it closed most locations early as a precaution, but in some cities the violence was on a scale that beat its security measures and left police struggling to respond. The episode brought both physical damage and lost trading.

"The material damage and economic consequences of the day will be very significant for the company, both because of the damage sustained by our stores and the loss of business resulting from the closures," the statement continued. Its teams are assessing the damage.

Galeries Lafayette said all its stores would reopen as normal the following morning, except Bordeaux, where the extent of the damage means it will not reopen until Monday afternoon. The company added that it is continuing to work with the authorities.

Pressure already on Louis Vuitton

Alexandre Bompard, writing on LinkedIn on behalf of the FCD, the French retail federation, condemned in the strongest possible terms the damage and looting that businesses had suffered, as stores were vandalised and merchandise stolen.

The attacks come as Louis Vuitton faces pressure elsewhere. We have reported that its China sales fell by as much as 30% after a trademark win over tea chain Molly Tea sparked a patriotic backlash, delaying a planned chief executive handover.

In our ranking of the most valuable luxury brands, Chanel overtook Louis Vuitton as France's most valuable brand for the first time in years, at $38 billion against Vuitton's $33 billion. The looting adds physical damage and lost trading days at home.

Céline, whose Avenue Montaigne store was ransacked, was the subject of our report on its new US flagship on Rodeo Drive. Galeries Lafayette has given no figure for the damage, and the Bordeaux store is the last due to reopen.

Support the content you love — it’s free 🎉

Add Worthbury as a preferred source on Google. Our stories will be more likely to appear in Google’s Top Stories. It’s free and supports our team. Thank you!

Add as preferred source

You can remove us any time in Google’s source preferences.

This briefing is published daily using an AI-powered system crafted by Worthbury's team and finely tuned to meet our editorial standards. While we continuously test and review the output, mistakes can sometimes happen. Tell us if you spot one.