Parisians are buying tear-gas cannisters and pepper sprays to defend themselves and their property during protests, which are expected to continue over the weekend, the owner of a weapons shop in the French capital told Reuters.
France was hit by its worst social unrest in years last weekend as nationwide protests over high prices and declining public services erupted into riots. A town hall was torched, shops pillaged and buildings covered in graffiti as violent groups clashed with police in cities across the country.
Police have authorised only a union demonstration in Paris today, rejecting requests for rallies lodged by France’s main student union, UNEF, and the anti-establishment Yellow Vest movement.
At the Armurerie de la Bourse weapons shop in central Paris, owner Yves Gollety told Reuters he has seen a big increase in the sale of non-lethal weapons since the weekend. Shops just 30 metres away had been looted, with their shutters torn off, he said.
“It’s the first time that we’ve seen such an increase, and with all segments of the population,” Gollety said, adding that his customers include shopkeepers, restaurant owners and individuals.
“People have been physically traumatised and are afraid,” he said.
The top-selling products are pepper sprays and tear-gas cannisters, which Gollety said could only be used in self-defence. Gollety, who is also president of the national association of gunsmiths, told French newspaper Le Parisien that orders had increased tenfold. Members of the public are only allowed to buy small cannisters under 100 millilitres in size, Gollety said. Reuters found no evidence that people in Paris were buying other types of weapons in response to the protests.
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