Days of violent protests across France after the fatal police shooting of a teenager have started to impact the country’s tourism sector, with hotels and restaurants facing cancellations while some have also suffered damage in the unrest.
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Since the death of 17-year-old Nahel during a traffic stop in a Paris suburb on Tuesday, “our hotel members have suffered a wave of cancellations of reservations in all the territories affected by the damage and clashes,” said chef Thierry Marx, president of the main association for hotel and catering industry employers.
Marx said Friday he was receiving daily alerts from industry professionals who have suffered “attacks, looting and destruction of their businesses, including some restaurants and cafes”.
“Our establishments are intrinsically hospitality venues, and sometimes even refuges and places of help in crisis situations. They must not suffer the consequences of anger that they have not aroused and we condemn these actions,” he added.
Marx wants the authorities to do “everything” to guarantee the safety of people in the hotel and catering industry in the world’s most popular tourist destination.
The French retail federation (FCD) also called for reinforced police security around stores, said managing director Jacques Creyssel.
The riots “gave rise to real scenes of looting”, he said, with “more than a hundred medium and large food or non-food stores vandalised, looted or even burned”.
These incidents “are extremely serious and have an extremely heavy cost”, according to Creyssel, who said he had asked the economy, interior and trade ministers to act.
The Paris Ile-de-France Chamber of Commerce said it was ensuring its teams were mobilised to “provide the necessary support and technical assistance, particularly in terms of continuing operations, insurance compensation, etc…” for…
