As Emmanuel Macron told the nation of his “anger and shame” at the weekend’s chaos, ordinary Parisians were already fighting a second night of looting the only way they could, by hurling basins of hot water from upper-floor windows onto the streets below.
The extraordinary scene unfolded at around 8.42 pm on Sunday outside Le Binoclard, an independent optician’s shop at 39 Rue de Saintonge in the 3rd arrondissement. While the President spoke of those who looted having to “pay,” the pillaging continued in the heart of the capital, with residents and shop staff defending the premises using basins of scalding water against groups below.
A live video circulating widely on social media captured the desperate defence: figures leaning from windows of the building above the shop as the street filled with people amid the ongoing disorder. Online comments quickly compared it to medieval times, with one observer noting it was “like returning to the Middle Ages, throwing boiling oil from the battlements.” Others warned that publicising the exact address risked further attacks on the building.
Le Binoclard, a well-regarded independent store specialising in stylish frames, was among the thousands of businesses hit during the unrest. By Monday morning, the shop had been ransacked by around 20 people. Children’s glasses and a few pairs lay on the floor amid overturned furniture, emptied drawers and stripped shelves — virtually the entire stock gone.
The broader crisis had erupted the previous day. Hundreds of thousands took to the streets across France on Saturday to protest the cost of living, fuel prices and the state of public services, including schools. While many demonstrations remained peaceful, violent groups hijacked them in Paris, Marseille, Lyon and elsewhere. Shops were smashed and looted, cars and bikes torched, and public buildings attacked, including a historic town hall in Limoges that was left in flames. Police made a record number of arrests in the capital alone, with nationwide figures exceeding 2,000. More than 1,500 businesses were damaged, with insurance losses potentially topping a billion euros.
Looting did not stop with the President’s address. Groups continued targeting stores in central Paris into Sunday night and the early hours of Monday, including near shopping areas, even as police presence remained stretched. Shopkeepers across the city described scenes of organised groups clearing shelves with apparent impunity on Saturday before the disorder resumed.
For the owners of small independent businesses like Le Binoclard, the response from the authorities has left a bitter taste. With police focused on larger flashpoints and the government facing accusations of underestimating the scale of the violence, some have been left to protect their livelihoods themselves. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez offered his resignation amid criticism of intelligence and preparation failures; Macron refused it but demanded an end to the barricades and looting.
Six months out from the next presidential election, the images of ordinary people pouring hot water from their windows to hold back looters have become a stark symbol of a country where many feel the state has lost control of the streets. As clean-up crews work through the debris and business owners count the cost, the question hanging over Paris is whether the anarchy has truly subsided, or whether more will feel forced to take matters into their own hands.
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