Paris, France – Jagged shards of broken glass ring the hole where a rock smashed through the window of Hassan Rashdul's mobile phone shop near Place de la Republique, the epicenter of the looting and rioting that swept through this part of Paris on Saturday.
"I cried," Rashdul said as he replayed surveillance camera footage on his phone.
The glass counter has been shattered, the floor covered in broken glass. Display cases once full of new and refurbished phones, iPads and computers now sit empty. The walls where headphones, cables, cases and other accessories once hung have been stripped bare.
"It's really terrible," said Rashdul, 32. "For us it's a very heavy blow… Small business owners like us were already struggling. We no longer work to grow, only to survive."
Rashdul said he lost at least 70,000 euros ($78,600) in goods. His insurance will not cover it because the policy excludes theft-related losses, even though Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said the government would pay staff wages for around 3,000 businesses across France affected by the riots.
The French government also announced it would set up a "dedicated support fund" to help businesses restock. Lecornu has assigned more than 200 investigators to track down those responsible for the rioting and looting.
But the looters moved fast: some businesses said their goods were being offered for sale online within hours of the theft.
"Goods stolen over the weekend are being offered for sale on several platforms," Digital Minister Anne Le Henanff wrote on X. "We are asking these platforms to remove the relevant listings immediately."
She held a meeting with representatives of six platforms, attended by officials from the Interior and Justice ministries. According to the French Trade Ministry, representatives of Vinted, Amazon, eBay, Leboncoin, Meta and TikTok, along with the French online retail association Fevad, were invited.
"They will also have to coordinate closely with state authorities so that those reselling stolen goods can be prosecuted," Le Henanff added.
Around Rashdul's shop are mini-markets, an optician, phone stores and cafes bearing the scars of last weekend's violence.
Some shops have been boarded up. Others, with nothing left to take, were left open by their owners, exposed to the damp October weather.
Amid the losses, Rashdul still sees a glimmer of hope.
"There's another side too," he said, "a positive point – the local customers, the people in the neighborhood."
These residents have launched social media appeals to support the shop owners, he said.
"They really make you want to try again," Rashdul said. "Everyone is helping us rebuild the shop, get back to work and serve this neighborhood once more."
But it won't be easy. Rashdul, an immigrant who came to France from Bangladesh, spent 10 years building his business. He now describes himself as a proud French citizen – respectful of the right to protest but also worried about the impact of violence on businesses like his and on France as a whole.
"Even though I want to rebuild, they've announced another protest next Saturday," he said. "I know we live in a democracy and have the right to protest, but if that leads to more looting, it's very hard on France and damaging to its international reputation."
