Apple's flagship Champs-Elysees store will remain closed Saturday as the company suspends retail operations across Paris ahead of planned protests.
Apple will close seven French stores on Saturday, October 24, as Paris prepares for further protests following last weekend's violence. The closures include all three Apple stores within the French capital, while shopping center locations around Paris are expected to remain open.
The Paris closures affect Apple Champs-Elysees, Apple Opera, and Apple Marche Saint-Germain. All three stores will reopen Sunday with limited hours, from noon until 6 p.m.
Four locations outside Paris will also close Saturday, according to WWD, which did not identify those stores.
Authorities have banned gatherings near the Champs-Elysees and rejected a proposed protest route from Place de la Republique toward Opera. France plans to deploy around 70,000 police and gendarmes nationwide Saturday; 28 Paris metro stations will close at 9:00am.
Looters often target high-value stores such as Apple, hoping to grab armfuls of electronics to resell. Yet a would-be thief can't do much with an iPhone lifted from a store before purchase.
Demo units will automatically brick themselves once they are removed from a store.
Units stolen from Apple Lille displayed the warning above, which translates to, "Please return the device to Apple Lille. This device has been disabled and is being tracked. Local authorities will be alerted."
The October 17 demonstrations escalated into rioting and looting, damaging shops near Place de la Republique. As noted by the BBC, most protests began peacefully, expressing opposition to rising fuel prices, cost of living, and deteriorating public services.
