Economic Fallout of Riots in France: Businesses Suffer €1 Billion in Damages

Riots in France have led to widespread destruction of public and private properties, with 200 looted shops, 250 tobacco shops, and 300 bank branches destroyed, resulting in an estimated €1 billion in damages for businesses, according to the head of French Federation of Businesses (Medef).

Rabat – Riots in France have led to widespread destruction of public and private properties, with 200 looted shops, 250 tobacco shops, and 300 bank branches destroyed, resulting in an estimated €1 billion in damages for businesses, according to the head of French Federation of Businesses (Medef).

The protests have entered their sixth consecutive day since the killing of Nahel, a 17-year-old of Algerian origins, at the hands of a police officer.

After France tightened its security measures, and even restricted access to the internet at night for certain neighborhoods, the number of arrests has significantly decreased.

The Interior Ministry reported that 157 individuals were arrested during the night, a sharp decline from over 700 the previous evening and 1,300 on Friday.

The relative calm followed French President Emmanuel Macron’s deployment of 45,000 police officers across the country.

“When you arrest 3,200 people, when the courts put people on trial, when you put on a show of republican force, I think that has largely contributed to this return to calm,” France’s interior minister Gerald Darmanin told reporters on Monday.

While the number of arrests decreased, the night’s violence still resulted in damage to approximately 300 vehicles and three additional injuries to police officers. Protests denouncing the brutal murder of Nahel have extended beyond the French border.

The officer who fired the fatal shot at Nahel is under an official investigation and was charged with voluntary homicide and has been placed in preliminary detention.

On Monday, Turkish President Recip Tayib Erdogan blamed France’s colonial heritage and “institutional racism” for the social unrest.

“While we do not support the looting of stores, it is important to recognize that street protests are not a legitimate method of asserting rights. Nevertheless, it is evident that authorities should take lessons from this social outburst,” Erdogan stated.