Shops Boarded Up in Paris as Weekend Protests Are Expected
Shops across Paris boarded up their windows ahead of protests scheduled for Saturday, October 24, 2026, and French business groups urged shops to stay closed, as the New York Times and Reuters reported.
Reuters reported that about 3,000 stores and businesses were ransacked across France over the weekend before October 23. The damage follows earlier unrest. In an earlier Reuters report, a Lacoste store and other boutiques were ransacked and banks were smashed, and rioters tried to break into the Galeries Lafayette department store.
The Louvre and other cultural institutions in Paris announced that they would close on Saturday, October 24, according to the New York Times.
The protests come as Paris prepares to host a major sporting event. The NFL, the American professional football league, has scheduled its 2026 Paris Game for Sunday, October 25, at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, France. The game will be the NFL's first-ever regular-season match in Paris, and it is set to feature the Pittsburgh Steelers against the New Orleans Saints, the league said.
The protests have forced changes to business and cultural life in the capital just as the weekend's events approach. Business groups' advice to keep shops shut and the boarding of storefronts were both visible in Paris ahead of the Saturday demonstrations.
