Demonstrations on Saturday, 17 October, against rising living costs and weaker public services spread across France and turned violent in several cities. Looting was reported in Paris, Lyon, Marseille and Lille, as well as in other towns, while masked groups set fire to cars, bicycles and scooters, attacked police and broke into public buildings. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu described the violence as being of extreme intensity. High school students who had been protesting since September were joined that day by yellow vest activists and trade unionists. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez acknowledged that authorities had lost control in parts of some cities. Catherine Spindler, president of Sephora in Europe, admitted that several of the company's stores were looted.
Official figures differ between sources, and the arrest count is the clearest example. Figures cited from the French Interior Ministry put the number detained at nearly 2,400 and the number of officers injured at nearly 1,000, while other reports put arrests at at least 1,200. Alain Di Crescenzo, head of the Chambers of Commerce and Industry, told RTL that more than 2,000 businesses were directly hit and that losses run into hundreds of millions of euros. Authorities put the number of damaged businesses at more than 3,000. In Paris, luxury shops on Place Vendôme were closed and guarded by security staff, and Dior, Rolex, Louis Vuitton and Ralph Lauren stores were among those damaged. Olympique de Marseille said its official store on the city's main historic avenue had been looted.
Screenshots of listings that appeared to contain stolen goods began circulating on social media from Sunday, 18 October. Sellers offered bags of Sephora cosmetics with tags still attached, sneakers and Louis Vuitton items, and some listings stated outright that the goods had been stolen in Paris. Other listings referred to the date 17 October, and franceinfo reported that some sellers directed buyers to Snapchat, outside Vinted's moderation. Many of these listings had disappeared by Monday, 19 October, but it is unclear whether the platforms or the sellers removed them.
Vinted said it had taken immediate steps to identify and remove listings linked to the looting, and it described its response in a statement.
“Since this weekend, our teams have acted immediately to identify and remove listings that may involve stolen goods, and we have strengthened monitoring of suspicious listings.”
The company says it applies a zero tolerance policy toward stolen goods and that violations can lead to accounts being permanently blocked. It also says it cooperates with French authorities and police and is adjusting its processes to spot new risks. eBay said it had not seen an increase in listings that could be linked to the weekend thefts, but that it uses proactive technological tools to detect the sale of stolen goods and works with law enforcement.
Digital affairs minister Anne Le Hénanff called on resale platforms to remove the listings without delay and warned that such behaviour would not go unpunished. She and commerce minister Serge Papin, together with justice and interior representatives, convened six platforms, including Vinted, Amazon, eBay, Leboncoin, Meta and TikTok, to block sales and bring sellers to justice. The government has given the platforms a list of red flags: unusually low prices, batches of new goods, anti-theft security tags or an explicit mention of theft. Receiving stolen goods in France carries up to five years in prison and a fine of 375,000 euros, and according to BFM Business, buyers who knowingly purchase stolen goods could also face penalties. The consumer protection agency DGCCRF is working with customs and can request the removal of listings and, during investigations, seller data. Le Hénanff said in a post on X that the platforms must cooperate closely with state authorities so that those reselling stolen goods can be prosecuted.
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Resale platforms face government pressure after goods looted during the 17 October unrest in Paris, Lyon and other cities appeared for sale. Vinted says it bans stolen items and is cooperating with French authorities.
AI text based on reports by Xataka, Rzeczpospolita, TheJournal.ie and other publishers. Published .