Riots in France cause over €1B damage to private sector

French businessmen and bankers suffered losses of more than 1 billion euros due to the riots that took place throughout the republic for several days after the police officer killed a 17-year-old teenager of Algerian origin during the arrest, the head of the Movement of French Entrepreneurs (MEDEF), Geoffroy Roux de Bezieux, said in an interview with Le Parisien newspaper, Report informs.

He stressed that it is still too early to give an exact figure.

“We are talking about more than €1 billion, not counting the damage to tourism. Video footage of the unrest that has spread around the world is damaging the image of France. It’s always hard to tell if the effects will be lasting, but this summer, just as the season looked promising, there will no doubt be a drop in bookings, some have already canceled vacations,” he said.

The head of MEDEF stressed that over the past days, 200 stores were completely looted, 300 bank branches were broken. About 250 tobacco shops were also robbed. Some merchants, in addition to robberies, also suffered from fires set by rioters.

Earlier, the AFP agency reported that foreigners, especially from the US, canceled up to 25% of bookings in Paris hotels amid unrest. This is taking into account the fact that Paris has not yet recovered from the reputational losses after the recent garbage workers’ strike.

The unrest in France began after a 17-year-old driver of Algerian origin was killed by a police officer on June 27, which caused widespread discontent in the country. During the protests and clashes, thousands of people were detained, more than 200 police officers were injured.