Bangladeshi Businessmen in France Face Huge Losses Amid Riots, Curfews
Nationwide protests in France over living costs and fuel prices have escalated into severe violence, vandalism, and looting, targeting government offices, commercial enterprises, and roughly 10 to 15 Bangladeshi-owned businesses in Paris and other areas. Many of these expatriate entrepreneurs, who launched their ventures using bank loans and personal savings, now face devastating financial ruin and deep uncertainty regarding loan repayments and staff salaries, prompting urgent appeals to the government for financial compensation and support.
Following days of unprecedented rioting, the French government opted for localised night curfews rather than a blanket citywide restriction to restore public order. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, after an emergency meeting on Monday (October 19), instructed local officials to enact curfews and warned that a state of emergency remains a possibility if the unrest continues, emphasising that safeguarding lives and commercial properties are top priorities. Localised night curfews and bans on public gatherings were swiftly enforced in major urban centres, including Paris around the Place de la République and Les Halles, northern cities like Lille, Douai, Wattignies, and Denain, as well as targeted restrictions for minors in Nice and measures in Lyon, effectively curbing overnight violence and restoring relative calm.
In the political fallout, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez offered his resignation following the widespread unrest, but President Emmanuel Macron rejected it, urging Nuñez to maintain continuity in security leadership while directing a transparent review of intelligence and security planning failures. Nuñez candidly acknowledged that police lost control in several cities and were underprepared for the overwhelming scale of rioters, as authorities reported nearly 2,400 weekend arrests and about 3,000 damaged commercial establishments nationwide.
Weighing in on the crisis from an international perspective, Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov stated during a Monday press briefing that the unrest spreading across France, Italy, and other European nations has pushed the region to the brink of chaos, describing it as an evident crisis while clarifying that it remains an internal matter for EU member states. As the French government implements new policing strategies and bolsters security forces to prevent further escalations, affected foreign business owners and local merchants alike await long-term stabilisation, hoping for comprehensive state assistance to rebuild their shattered enterprises and recover from unprecedented losses.
(Sources: Al Jazeera, BBC)
