France's luxury stores board up windows ahead of fresh protests

By Alessandro Parodi

PARIS, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Luxury boutiques in France boarded up their normally glitzy windows and added guards ahead of fresh protests on Saturday, with some planning to stay closed after rioters looted shops across the country last weekend.

France, the most visited country in the world, draws large numbers of overseas shoppers seeking Chanel handbags and Hermes scarves, an important source of revenue for brands facing slowing demand. 

But some decided staying open was too risky after last week's events, when rioters smashed and looted hundreds of shops in Paris, Marseille and Bordeaux.

A Rolex retailer and a De Beers store near the capital's famous Place Vendome will remain closed on Saturday, staff said, while managers at stores including Richemont-owned IWC said they would decide whether to close early depending on the intensity of the protests.

Groups including France's main student union UNEF and the Yellow Vest group, which emerged as a potent anti-establishment movement in 2018, plan to march through central Paris later on Saturday to protest against high living costs and cuts to public services.

NOT IN THE MOOD

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said on Friday that his ministry would deploy 70,000 police officers, backed by specialist units, to prevent the violence that occurred last week.

But staff at LVMH brands Louis Vuitton, Dior and Bulgari said they weren't taking any chances and security at their stores near Place Vendome had been increased for the day. Additional private security to supplement the police presence in the neighbourhood is also planned.

Nearby department store Printemps also increased its security staff, carried out safety repairs and added security measures to reinforce shop windows and entrances, a spokesperson for the store said.

Hermes finance chief Eric du Halgouet said this week the company had increased security measures at its French stores, adding it was too early to say how much impact recent events would have on business. 

The image-conscious industry can ill afford further negative publicity. Consumer sentiment is gloomy worldwide and tourism is slowing as a result of the Iran war — contributing to disappointing quarterly reports at LVMH, Hermes and Kering this month.

Lidiya Shevchenko, a sales assistant at a Graziella Braccialini store, said she doubted many people would be looking to visit stores anyway during the protests.

"I suppose the mood is just as important when it comes to shopping," Shevchenko said.

One tourist who has already been put off is Cambodian Jerry Lay, who purchased several items from Louis Vuitton on the Champs-Élysées earlier this week.

"We do enjoy shopping in France, but after experiencing the protest (last Saturday), I'd say it's 50/50 whether I would consider coming back next time," Lay said.

(Reporting by Alessandro Parodi in Paris, editing by Dominique Patton and Rosalba O'Brien)