Brazen French rioters start selling off their hauls of looted goods on Vinted - as buyers search 'products from October 17th'

Brazen French looters have begun selling their stolen goods on Vinted in the wake of riots across the country over the weekend. Hundreds of thousands took to the streets to protest against declining and dysfunctional public services that demonstrators say leave citizens fending for themselves during a cost-of-living crisis.But among their number were countless looters who stole valuables from shops up and down the country. And some items are now being sold on websites including Vinted, with some listings even making clear that they were stolen during the riots over the weekend. One jumper was described as being 'stolen during the protests'.Another mentioned 'October 17', the date that hundreds of thousands flooded streets across France to protest. Some were even as specific as listing the cities the goods were stolen from. One listing said the goods came from a 'protest in Lyon'.Many items were posted online with their security tags still attached. Stolen goods included makeup from Sephora, football shirts, high-end trainers and video games. The products were often listed for much lower than their recommended retail price. One Vinted listing showed a pile of Sephora makeup items Many of the posts referenced October 17 in the listings Some items, including a new football shirt, were seen with their product tags still attachedMany of the Vinted listings have since been removed from the site. France's Federation of Trade and Retail said almost 3,000 shops had been affected over the weekend.'Once again, the retail sector finds itself on the front line, at a time when it is already weakened by a succession of crises,' it said.'Behind every ransacked shop are business owners, employees and families who have seen years of work and effort wiped out in a matter of hours,' it added, calling for relief from social security contributions and tax for those businesses affected.French PM Sebastien Lecornu said the government would provide furlough measures from Tuesday. In Paris, at least 300 to 400 businesses were vandalised at the weekend, Dominique Restino, the head of the Paris chamber of commerce, told BFM television.At the Place Vendome, home to luxury hotels and boutiques, most shops were shuttered and surrounded by security guards. The front door of a Dior boutique was smashed, while the windows were damaged in the stores of other luxury brands in central Paris, including Rolex, Louis Vuitton, Ralph Lauren and Gucci.In Marseille, Ligue 1 club Olympique de Marseille said its official store on the city's historic main avenue had been looted, while a town hall in central France was torched.Some 2,400 people were arrested and one protester died from a cardiac arrest on Saturday while nearly 1,000 officers were injured. The products sold on Vinted were being flogged for far less than they are ordinarily worth Brazen French looters have begun selling their stolen goods on Vinted Protesters vandalise a retail store during a demonstration near Place de la Republique, as the the Gilets Jaunes join students for a weekend of action on October 17, 2026 in Paris, France A car burns at Republique square during a protest against rising living costs in Paris on SaturdayThe riots that have plagued France for weeks have left international investors worried.French assets were underperforming broader European markets on Monday, though moves were more contained than at some other moments of recent political friction.Tensions in President Emmanuel Macron's fragile government over apparent security shortcomings – coming just as the government needs to pass a much-needed budget bill to rein in its finances – could further unsettle investors.A Vinted spokesman told the Daily Mail: 'The sale of stolen goods, or soliciting them, is strictly prohibited on Vinted, and we have zero tolerance for it.'Since this weekend, our teams have taken immediate action to identify and remove listings linked to the looting, and we have stepped up monitoring of suspicious listings. 'When our rules are breached, we act against the accounts involved, up to permanent bans.'We are actively collaborating with law enforcement and the French authorities, and we continually adapt our processes to detect and counter emerging risks and malicious behaviour.'