France riot damage reaches at least 3,000 shops as insurers face hundreds of millions in losses

The number of shops damaged during France's weekend riots has reached at least 3,000, double the figure reported a day earlier. The government's count reached 3,000 by Monday after an initial tally of 1,500 on Sunday.

Violence continued in at least four cities overnight from Sunday to Monday, including Paris, Lyon, Marseille and Nantes. The president of the chambers of commerce network said more than 2,000 shops were affected and that the bill would run into hundreds of millions of euros.

“Nos commerçants ont besoin d'une accélération des procédures d'indemnisation comme dans le cas des catastrophes naturelles.”

Carrefour alone reported damage at 50 stores, 20 of which were looted. Its chief executive, who also chairs the FCD retail federation, estimated industry losses at several hundred million euros.

Insurers said they were fully mobilised to support affected policyholders but could not provide an initial loss estimate or say how many claims had been filed. Their crisis team is working with public authorities across France.

French financial markets fell on Monday, with the CAC 40 down 1.1 percent and Carrefour shares losing 2.2 percent. The yield on France's 10-year bonds rose to 4.94 percent, widening the gap with German borrowing costs to about 148 basis points.

The 2023 riots caused 793 million euros in insured losses across about 17,000 claims, averaging roughly 46,600 euros each.