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Protests: Sales at Parisian Gun Shops Multiply by 10 This Week

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The Editor

© Jagoda Bartus / Le Bonbon

Last weekend, several thousand shops in the capital were partially or completely damaged during the October 17th demonstrations. And as a second wave of protests is being prepared for this Saturday, October 24th, many people have decided to take matters into their own hands to protect themselves.

It’s a historic moment that the capital has been experiencing these past weeks. While, for nearly a month now, high school students have been protesting against teaching conditions in many schools, the Yellow Vests recently joined their cause, protesting on their end against rising prices. A nationwide movement of significant scale, which has taken unprecedented proportions since Saturday, October 17th, not without consequences.


Insufficient action from the State

In the streets of central Paris, Monday, October 19th, the situation was quite disheartening. Over 3,000 shops damaged, ransacked

shops and pharmacies were counted in the capital, with absolutely dramatic consequences for all the owners and tenants of these businesses. And with good reason, for some, these addresses represent the investment of a lifetime, and the damages amount to several hundred thousand euros. Faced with these excesses, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu announced the introduction of aid, as well as technical unemployment for all merchants unable to work, in place since Tuesday, October 20th. But for many of them, these measures are far from being sufficient.


Desperate times call for desperate measures

So, on the eve of a new gathering scheduled for Saturday, October 24th, many are taking matters into their own hands and organizing their own defense, both for shops already affected and those spared so far. Night patrols organized since the beginning of the week, constant presence on the ground, and especially purchases of defense equipment in specialized stores. Indeed, over the past week, according to Yves Gollety, owner of the Bourse gun shop and president of the National Syndicate Chamber of Gunsmiths since 1997, orders have reportedly multiplied by 10 over recent daysOn the menu, non-lethal self-defense weapons in category D, available for self-service for adults, such as rubber bullet pistols, tear gas bombs, batons. The biggest hit: tear gas pistols, out of stock in many stores.