Protests force closure of luxury Paris department store

Dozens of trade union members and disgruntled employees protested on Thursday at the ultra-luxury La Samaritaine shopping store in the heart of Paris, causing managers to shut its doors.

Published: 22 December 2022 16:00 CET

Protests force closure of luxury Paris department store

French President Emmanuel Macron (R) and Head of French multinational corporation LVMH Bernard Arnault (L) at the reopening of La Samaritaine in 2021. Photo by Christophe ARCHAMBAULT / AFP

Owned by the French LVMH luxury giant, La Samaritaine re-opened in June last year after a €750-million facelift and renovation carried out over 16 years.

“La Samaritaine is a symbolic place representing wealth. A lot of employees here cannot allow themselves to buy what they sell,” Amar Lagha, from the hard-left CGT union, told AFP.

The store is owned by LVMH whose CEO Bernard Arnault this week was named as the world’s richest man.

Around 200-300 protesters were involved, including union members and employees, the CGT claimed.

OPINION The new Samaritaine is an example of the ‘Disneyfication’ of Paris

Wearing red vests with the union’s emblem, they could be seen standing among the displays of luxury handbags, make up and clothing even after management shut the store in the morning.

“Almost all of the demonstrators were not employees of la Samaritaine,” the store’s management said in a statement. “For security reasons, clients and personnel were evacuated.”

France has been hit by a series of strikes in different sectors of the economy as employees push for pay hikes in the face of annual inflation of around 6.0 percent.

Many train managers and ticket inspectors on the national railways have announced a stoppage over the Christmas weekend starting Friday, leading to two in five long-distance trains being cancelled.

Travellers and the government have reacted with fury to the train strike, which has been organised informally without union backing.

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Once a preferred spot for gala premieres, the UGC Normandie was one of several grand cinemas on the Champs-Elysées that made the area a hub for film buffs in the 1960s and 70s.

But the street long ago lost its cool among Parisians, becoming increasingly dominated by flagship fashion stores and tourists taking snaps of the Arc de Triomphe.

The UGC cinema chain said it faced a “very sharp increase in rent” at the location, which is owned by the Qatari royal family.

Two other famed cinemas on the boulevard, the George V and Gaumont Marignan, have closed since 2020.

“The cinema is disappearing in somewhat terrible circumstances for the whole culture,” said a former employee, 22-year-old Yann Raffin, adding that he feels both “sadness” and “anger”.

“This avenue is transforming into an avenue reserved for the ultra-rich,” he told AFP.

The last screening on Wednesday night was “La La Land” with Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling, a fitting tribute to Hollywood musicals of a bygone era.

Its director, Damien Chazelle, appeared on screen with a special message for the sold-out crowd.

“This room was an extension of my own life, it was a friend and an ally,” said Mehdi Omais, 40, a film journalist, visibly moved.

“It’s heartbreaking to see it close and to see this avenue becoming a cemetery of cinemas.”

An auction of the chairs and decor was due on Thursday, including the huge letters on the outside, with proceeds going to a charity that organises screenings for hospitalised children.

Paris remains a film-going hotspot and still has more cinemas per head than anywhere in the world, with swanky new theatres opening elsewhere in the city.

They include a state-of-the-art Pathe cinema near the Opera Garnier, designed by architect Renzo Piano who created the Pompidou Centre and The Shard in London.