"People were traumatized by what happened last weekend when they sometimes found themselves on their own, sometimes for two or three hours or the whole day, facing the rioters."

"Shopkeepers, restaurant owners and individuals got scared and are looking to defend themselves."

"They're not seeking to take justice into their own hands."

"[However, the increase in sales of non-lethal protective gear is] unprecedented."

Yves Gollety, proprietor, l'Armurerie de la Bourse, Central Paris

 

"It's not just Paris. It's many cities across France."

"There will be large-scale operations everywhere. [At least 75 percent of the police force will be mobilized, with postponements of days off, as required]."

Thierry Clair, national secretary, Unsa Police union 

People enter a ransacked Franprix store as clashes erupted at Place de la République. Photograph: Matthieu Rondel/AFP/Getty Images

 

The shopkeeper of a costume jewelry store in Les Halles, a sprawling commercial district in Paris, went shopping a few days back, for self-protection weaponry; a truncheon, a plastic handgun propelling small canisters of a substance like tear gas, and all together found himself 600 euros out-of-pocket. Although his store was spared by the rioters who had ransacked other stores nearby his own last weekend, he finds it necessary to be prepared for such exigencies as may reoccur.

 

"I never thought it would come to this. I'm doing this, but I don't feel reassured", he said in an interview, taking care to ensure his name would not be used. He didn't stop just with procuring those weapons, but went on to hire private security guards complete with trained canines. He is boarding up his storefront windows. And then, when he feels somewhat prepared, he will reopen his business. And he is not alone in feeling the necessity to protect himself and his property, feeling he can no longer be reliant on police alone in the face of violent mob action.

 

Last Saturday's protests across France came complete with violence and vandalism, with roving bands of rioters attacking hundreds of shops, smashing windows and making off with merchandise. Observers note that most of these looters are people of colour, individuals who may be first- or second-generation immigrants to France. Palestinian flags have become a common sight among the protests, whereas the flag of the Republic is less seen among the protesters who initially came out to inform French officialdom that students are fed up with underfunded education.

 

An optician’s on rue Beaubourg in central Paris on Monday. The graffiti says: ‘Burn the prisons.’ Photograph: Angelique Chrisafis/The Guardian

 

Residents, shopkeepers and authorities have been on edge in fearful anticipation, with another planned weekend of protests, where students, teachers, unions -- and others whose purpose is not as well defined plan to roil the country with more of the protests that come complete with threats and violence. The owner of l'Armurerie de la Boure, Yves Gollety, is also chair of the organization representing weapons sellers in France. It is not only his store but others like his own where customers are usually hunters, seeing self-defence weapons sales rise ten times normal in Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Bordeaux.

 

Sales of hunting rifles are stagnant, while demand for pepper sprays, tear gas-like canisters, pistols that fire rubber bullets and other non-lethal gear have exploded. Although other shops in the area where Yves Gollety's is located were attacked and looted last weekend, his was not. His plans were to open his shop again on Saturday, if for no other reason than to protect it from the potential of swarms of rioters looting it as they did those of his neighbours.

 

Masked protesters confront French riot Police   CNN

 

Business owners were informed by the Prefecture of Police to hire more private security agents in anticipation of what Saturday and coming Saturdays may bring. The co-founder of the Crypto hardware wallet maker Ledger wrote on X that if the state can no longer protect the people, the French should stop paying taxes. Authorities have promised to roll out the military to back up police tasked with upholding law and order, planning prevention of last weekend's riots on repeat. 

 

In an effort to reassure markets whom the violence has unnerved, a 20 percent-greater police presence was expected, according to the Interior Ministry, in response to the chaos that erupted through cost-of-living protests that deteriorated into the looting of 3,000 stores that merited 2,700 arrests. Special-intervention forces ordinarily deployed for risky missions such as counter-terrorism will be present should they be required, according to French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez.

 

Forensic investigators search for evidence after a shooting in Trappes, outside Paris, Friday, Oct. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Emma Da Silva)

 

Sensitive buildings will be guarded with soldiers and helicopters, water cannons and armoured vehicles popularly called Centaurs, will be present to ensure a level of public order. On Friday an escalation in the violence occurred when a Black mixed-martial-arts figure was shot and killed in an act termed 'racist' and a 'terrorist attack' by French authorities. The government, added Minister Nunez, would be 'uncompromising' in dealing with hooligans, with 70,000 security forces to be mobilized Saturday. 

"The suspect of the deadly shooting in Trappes (central France) claimed to have acted in response to the unrest during the October 17 demonstrations and the widespread looting and vandalism of shops."

"When he was arrested on Friday, October 23 in Coignières, after a deadly rampage lasting nearly 20 minutes, the man suspected of killing one person and injuring five others, including a 12-year-old girl, with an automatic weapon, stated in substance that he had "avenged the shopkeepers" by targeting "Black people and Arabs." 

Le Monde