Shopkeepers and terrified civilians are arming themselves in Paris ahead of fresh protests scheduled for this weekend. The turmoil in the capital and other French cities has seen protesters looting shops, defacing monuments and clashing with police in the country’s most violent unrest in years. As France braces for a new round of nationwide protests on Saturday, gun shops have reported a surge in demand from customers who say they no longer trust the police to protect their businesses and homes. Yves Gollety, owner of the Armurerie de la Bourse, a gun shop in Paris, told The Times that demand had risen eight to ten times.
Most customers, he said, were buying gel canisters costing €50 to €60 or a more powerful pistol-shaped weapon costing €500. Gollety assured that the device, which fires a concentrated jet of irritant, makes it difficult for the attacker to breathe, causes streaming eyes and forces the eyelids shut. He assured that the device, which can put an attacker down within a matter of seconds, was ‘safe’ and ‘non-lethal’, and argued that it was safer than the iron bars and fireworks used by protesters. In France, these devices can be bought without a permit, while firearms are subject to stricter controls.
