“It’s the first time in 25 years that I’ve seen this.” Shopkeepers and residents of central Paris noted Friday, disappointed, the damage of a night of looting and ransacking in the heart of the capital.
“Today is a lost day’s work,” says Yvan – he did not want to give his last name -, maintenance worker at the Arche store in Châtelet-les Halles, sitting on the steps at near the store.
Crumbled windows, stolen shoes… Both the Arche store and the Nike store a few meters away were looted and ransacked in the middle of the night.
“It’s the first time I’ve seen this, I won’t be able to work today… I have a family to support, it’s stupid to do that”, he adds distraught, waiting for the arrival of the store manager.
Opposite, Marieline, who did not want to decline her full identity, co-manager of the café “Au coeur Couronne”, had to bring inside all the customers installed on the terrace during the night.
“We were and we are very worried, she admits. When they attacked the stores. I called the police, I even put out a trash fire next to the restaurant”.
However, she does not intend to close the bar next night. “I have reservations, I have to open, but if it continues, maybe I’ll close earlier,” she adds.
After “being very afraid for the restaurant”, Noëlle, an employee of Maison Pouquelin in Châtelet, admits to being worried if the riots continue.
“We went through the Covid, everyone gave up, so if it’s like that now the traders are dead,” she says, leaning on the restaurant counter.
“I’m afraid they’ll come back”
Rue de Rivoli, Luisa Viera, 58, lives between the Mauboussin and Jott stores, ransacked and looted overnight.
Caretaker of the building, she was awakened by a “huge noise” and around two in the morning put a padlock on the door of the Jott store, to prevent “people from continuing to come by and steal clothes”.
“Tonight, I’m afraid they’ll come back and do worse,” she admits, leaning against the front door of the building.
Present with the rioters in the night, Ibrahim (assumed first name), seated opposite the Nike store, confides having witnessed “mortar fire” of fireworks. But he was “surprised” by the turn of events over the hours.
“They are neither right nor wrong, because stealing and looting will not bring anything to the investigation. But showing our anger shows that we are fed up with police blunders”, he argues, without knowing yet. he will participate in the rallies scheduled for Friday evening.
Following the damage, the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, convened a city crisis unit in the morning.
30/06/2023 21:52:26 – Paris (AFP) – © 2023 AFP
2023-06-30 21:55:36
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