‘10 years of work destroyed’

Originally from Bangladesh, Hassan arrived in France in 2010. After spending years working in hospitality, he managed to save enough to open his own business. In the aftermath of the weekend riots in Paris, his shop has been left completely destroyed.

Hassan recalls breaking down in tears, after he was forced to abandon his tech and courrier shop, located on a main street off the Place de la République in Paris, to rioters who ransacked his premises over the weekend.

“They attacked me physically and threatened to break a wine bottle on my head. I was forced to abandon my business”, he told Euronews.

Originally from Bangladesh, the father of three arrived in France in 2010. He spent years working in hospitality, before he saved enough to open a shop with his associate in 2016.

“About 10 years ago, we built this place up gradually, bit by bit,” he said.

“This was once my workspace, but now there’s nothing there. I have not slept since it all happened”, he lamented from behind the counter where he would normally welcome clients.

As he awaits insurance assessments, Hassan is unable to clear up the destruction, leaving him surrounded by the physical aftermath of the weekend’s violence. Smashed phones, empty delivery parcels and glass line his shop floor. He must also still pay rent, bills and his employees.

His shop is located in one of the areas of Paris which was the hardest hit by violence on 17 October. Although many protestors marched peacefully, in many areas they were hijacked by violence, as looters raided and destroyed businesses, from small firms to major enterprises.

‘How is this possible?’

Following advice from the French authorities, Hassan locked up his shop for the afternoon on Saturday. Hours later, when he logged into his security camera app on his phone, he froze in disbelief.

“I saw around 30 people in the shop. I thought, how is this possible?”

He decided to rush back to his business, but the police initially refused to grant him access to the perimeter around his shop, due to the ongoing intense levels of violence and rioting.

When he begged police to let him through and showed them images of his shop being destroyed in real time, they accepted.

But when he arrived on site, he realised he was utterly helpless, with no police in sight.

Euronews separately obtained footage of looters breaking into the adjacent apartment building, where one of the shop entrances is located. Neighbours begged them to stop, but were unable to, as they also feared for their own safety.

“There was a mix of young girls and boys. Some looked 15 years old. There was a constant stream, once a group had finished stealing, a new one would arrive.”

The looters stole phones, tech, as well as parcels. Some remained outside, as individuals handed each other goods through the smashed storefront. The storeroom in the basement was also ransacked.

‘We just want to make a living and do our job’

A local courrier worker who had delivered many of the stolen packages told Euronews he had seen some businesses in an even worse state.

“We just want to make a living and do our job with honesty. Others want to destroy everything.”

Across the road, an Intermarché, one of France’s biggest supermarket chains, has been closed since it was plundered over the weekend. Workers have spent days cleaning up the shop, picking up pieces of glass and restocking shelves.

Some hard-left activists have condemned damages to small businesses, while expressing greater tolerance for looting major supermarkets and companies, which they regard as symbols of capitalism.

But for the postal worker interviewed by Euronews, this logic does not hold, “it’s not justifiable. It’s the same, it’s all destroyed.”

Following the looting, local worker Noam set up a crowdfunder page for Hassan, which has already attracted thousands in donations.

“We know Hassan because he helps us with deliveries and other tasks regularly. He’s someone we’re used to working with. We are trying to help as much as we can, because there is a huge amount of work to be done, but we want to get through all of this with a community spirit.”

Riots which followed largely peaceful protests

The French government has launched emergency financial aid and structural relief programs to support impacted shops. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said on Monday that businesses hit by the unrest would be able to put staff on activité partielle, France’s state-funded furlough scheme, from Tuesday.

The weekend’s violence followed four weeks of largely peaceful student protests against deteriorating conditions in French schools.

Throughout the movement, human rights organisations have accused law enforcement of using excessive force against protesters. Much of the criticism focuses on rubber-bullet launchers, known in France as LBDs, and stun grenades, which critics blame for serious injuries to protesters.

On Saturday, trade unions, the yellow vest movement and students participated in major demonstrations across the country. Although most protestors marched peaceful, rioters overshadowed this, as they carried out mass looting and clashed with the police.

France has since instated a curfew in many parts of the country and significantly increased security measures ahead of upcoming protests on 24 October. The government has also announced the deployment of military forces, alongside the police in order to maintain public order.

Source: www.euronews.com