The cost of a week of riots in France that saw over 450 shops looted and 300 ATMs destroyed is estimated at almost €1 billion, according to the largest employers’ union MEDEF on Tuesday (4 July).
Over the last week, France has experienced nationwide turmoil triggered by the murder of a 17-year-old by police in the Parisian suburb of Nanterre on Tuesday, 27 June. While the events have opened up a broader debate on the socioeconomic status of big cities’ suburbs, the cost to the public due to the damage is also high.
“It is too early to give any precise number, but we are already at over €1 billion in damages”, MEDEF’s President Geoffroy Roux de Bézieux told French media.
His estimates apply only to the private sector, not accounting for public property and over 5000 cars which were damaged and set on fire.
Roux de Bézieux further warned that the riots already had a palpable effect on touristic trends, with expected cancellations expected to reach 20-25% of all Paris reservations, according to the Paris tourist information desk.
Last week, the US Embassy in Paris warned that their citizens should “avoid mass gatherings” and “notify friends of [their] whereabouts”.
“The videos of the riots circulated the world over, giving a broken image of France”, Roux de Bézieux deplored.
Though the total cost of the riots has yet to be precisely drawn out, the Paris region transports authority claims €20 million will be necessary to compensate for burnt buses and trams.
France: Riots enter digital bill discussions on how to curb hate speech
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The events have opened up a wider debate on the socioeconomic conditions of people living in low-income and impoverished towns on the fringes of the country’s larger cities.
While large amounts of public money have been poured into revamping existing infrastructures since the last major riots in 2005, unemployment levels are still significantly higher in these neighbourhoods than the French average, and access to economic hubs is made harder by an ailing transport system.
This notwithstanding the challenges, there was “absolute and organised violence”, Roux de Bézieux told France Inter and Le Parisien, accusing a “destructive minority” against a “silent majority” that yearns to work.
Government to step in
Roux de Bézieux called upon the government and insurance companies to step in and support struggling businesses. He specifically warned that smaller, independent outlets might be unable to cover refurbishing costs and may have to close altogether if no special assistance is granted.
It’s not about opening the spending floodgates, he said, but having “focused and tailored” economic support.
On Monday (3 July), Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire confirmed social and fiscal contributions would be lifted temporarily for affected shops. Opening days and hours– heavily restricted and contained between legally defined parameters – could also be extended to compensate for some of the losses.
Insurance firms also stepped in to confirm they would speed up reimbursement processes – expecting to pay out €250 million at the very least, a number expected to increase significantly in the coming days.
After days of violence, first limited to Paris suburbs before expanding to other French cities, calm has returned with some 45,000 officers patrolling since Friday evening.
The Brief — Macron's faltering 'hundred days to appease'
The police killing of a teenager on Tuesday (27 June), and the riots it has sparked across France, casts a big shadow over the success of President Emmanuel Macron’s plan of ‘100 days of appeasement, first introduced after the approval of a much-decried pensions reform in April.
[Edited by Alice Taylor]
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