The day of October 17 brought the rebound in activity to a complete halt: after an already “catastrophic” return to school, clothing sales fell again due to the damage.

The activity of clothing stores located in city centers has fallen due to the damage which has taken place on the sidelines of the demonstrations since October 17, according to a study by the Commerce Alliance published this Thursday. After a return to school and a month of September previously considered "catastrophic", the beginning of October saw a "rebound in clothing sales", particularly due to the return of cold weather, writes the professional organization which brings together major clothing brands and department stores. “But this dynamic was brutally interrupted from Saturday October 17,” regrets the Commerce Alliance in a press release.

City centers suffered the most from the damage and looting that occurred on the sidelines of the demonstrations. Turnover in city centers has plunged by 8% since October 17, according to this Retail Int study based on feedback from 70 clothing brands representing more than 10,000 stores.

Attendance down 13% Disparities can be noted between the different metropolises: -54% turnover for Marseille stores, -34% in Bordeaux and -29% in Lyon. In Paris, the decline in turnover is 1.1% with differences depending on the neighborhood: -41% in the Opéra district, -36% in République and -29% in Bastille. Throughout France, footfall at brands fell by 13% in October.

These figures “illustrate the particular vulnerability of city center businesses in the face of disruptions to activity and the deterioration of the climate of confidence”, according to the Commerce Alliance. Indeed, activity is doing well in areas of commercial activity, often located on the outskirts of cities which recorded a “progression of 6.1%”. “Over the whole month of October, the clothing brands in the Retail Int. panel.

for the Commerce Alliance recorded a decline in their in-store turnover of 0.4% compared to October 2025", notes the study. According to the latest report communicated by CCI France, 2,488 businesses were damaged on October 17, 50 on October 24 and 27 on October 31.

Among them, 1,161 were looted, ransacked or even burned.

Machine-translated from French