The key facts

  • Stoxx 600 lost more than 0.6% at the open, CAC 40 — 0.5%, Carrefour shares — more than 2%
  • Around 1,500 stores looted, damage in the hundreds of millions of euros; 2,400 arrested, Interior Minister Nuñez offered to resign but Macron refused to accept it
  • 10-year French bond yield at 4.86%, spread over German bonds — 143.5 b.p.; Moody's will review the Aa3 rating on Friday

Markets react to the riots

European stock indices opened lower on Monday after one of the most violent weekends in France in recent years. The Euro Stoxx 50 slipped 0.1%, while the broader Stoxx 600 lost more than 0.6%. The French CAC 40 fell 0.5%, and shares of Carrefour, which reported 50 stores attacked by looters, dropped more than 2%. The British FTSE 100, the Italian FTSE MIB and the Spanish IBEX 35 lost 0.4–0.6%, the German DAX more than 0.8%, while the Dutch AEX gained more than 0.4%.

Rising cost of French borrowing

The yield on 10-year French government bonds stood at 4.86% after reaching its highest level since 2002 earlier this month; the divided parliament is debating the 2027 budget. The spread over German debt was at 143.5 basis points — in early October it exceeded 150 points, a maximum since the eurozone debt crisis. On Friday, Moody's will review France's Aa3 credit rating, which is on negative outlook. The euro fell 0.2% to about $1.121 and 0.2% to £0.841; last week it dropped to lows not seen since mid-May 2025 against the dollar and since early June 2025 against the pound. The next ECB meeting is on 29 October.

Scale of the riots and the political crisis

According to the authorities, about 550,000 people took part in Saturday's nationwide marches against the rising cost of living and the state of schools; in Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Bordeaux and other cities the demonstrations turned into riots and looting. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez reported 2,400 arrests; according to media reports, the number of injured police officers, gendarmes and firefighters ranged from 500 to nearly 1,000. Nuñez, who acknowledged insufficient preparation and the loss of control in a number of cities, offered to resign, but President Emmanuel Macron rejected it, citing the need for continuity in the command of the security forces.

Businesses tally the losses

Carrefour CEO Alexandre Bompard, who heads the retail federation FCD, said that around 1,500 stores were attacked and the damage amounts to hundreds of millions of euros; according to him, repairs at Carrefour alone will cost 'significantly more than ten million euros'. Lacoste chief Thierry Guibert, whose Lacoste and Aigle stores were looted, called on the state to urgently protect businesses and employees. Intermarché head Thierry Cotillard expressed deep outrage, while Medef president Patrick Martin called the looting unacceptable. The owner of Snowleader said that when his Lyon store's door was broken into, the police advised him to wait and come back on Tuesday; the head of the merchants' association in central Marseille said the authorities had left entrepreneurs to fend for themselves.

Next steps

Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu is due to chair a crisis meeting on Monday, while Trade Minister Serge Papen is to meet with industry federations, banks and insurers. The trade unions have announced a general strike for 5 November.