The Looting Of The Comic Shops Of France – it seems that looters prefer Naruto to Asterix
Two weeks ago, nationwide protests in France over rising living costs, school conditions and related issues drew hundreds of thousands of demonstrators onto the streets across several cities. The marches were also accompanied by significant violence and looting, with arrests numbering in the thousands and losses estimated in the hundreds of millions. Stolen goods appeared on resale sites within hours; platforms including Vinted worked with authorities to remove listings. Even as popular comics and manga imagery, particularly the Straw Hat Jolly Roger from One Piece, had been widely adopted by some protesters, among the hardest-hit stores were comic shops, specifically those that specialise in manga, though the comic shops of Rue Dante escaped such attention
Manga Story on Boulevard Voltaire in Paris’s 11th district was completely emptied. Masked individuals broke in and removed the entire inventory of manga volumes, figures, Pokémon cards, games and merchandise. Neighbouring shops including Hobby One, Sat.Elite and others suffered the same fate. Losses at Manga Story alone were estimated by staff in the hundreds of thousands of euros, and stock assembled for a planned new store (MVP Store) was also taken. Laurent, who had worked there for thirty years, told Le Parisien: “It’s over. They took everything. My shop was a free shopping centre. I was 17 when I arrived here, and I’m 48 today, but the story ends here.” The store posted on social media that furniture and windows had been destroyed and that it was closing for an indeterminate period. Commercial director David Birbes later spoke to Livres Hebdo about the scale of the losses, the practical difficulties of restocking and reopening, and anxiety among merchants ahead of further planned demonstrations.
In Grenoble, Momie Mangas on 12 Grande Rue was ransacked for roughly half an hour. Owner and founder Patrick Corbet, who has been in the trade for more than four decades, described the scene to local media: “It’s quite simple to describe: it’s entirely destroyed, entirely devastated.” Looters took comics, manga and figurines; items they could not carry were smashed on the floor, and furniture was broken. He stressed that the perpetrators were vandals, not protesters, and expressed anger at the apparent impunity. The shop realises roughly 40% of its annual turnover between September and December, making the timing especially painful. Staff and customers mounted a rapid recovery effort. By 24 October, one week later, Momie Mangas had reopened. Corbet told Le Dauphiné: “Life continues despite everything… I don’t want to give in to fear.” Wooden panels still covered some scars and a few shelves remained empty, but trading had resumed. Customer support on social media was substantial; repair videos posted by staff drew tens of thousands of views.
In Nantes, the specialist comics shop À Plein Rêves was looted of statues, figures, comics and cash. The store, a long-standing member of the Comics Shop Assemble group, appealed to the city and state for assistance and asked the public to monitor second-hand platforms for stolen stock and to help support the store. “This represents 20 years of passion, work, sacrifices, encounters and sharing that are affected. Since 2006, our shop has been a place of culture, life and passion, where we have built a true community with you. Today, we are deeply saddened. But the anger is also immense. Nothing justifies attacking a business and a lifetime’s work.bOf course, the shop will need to be put back in order, but above all, everything related to insurance will need to be dealt with: precisely identifying each stolen item, listing them, valuing them one by one… Not to mention the cash register which was also stolen and which will need to be replaced.”
In Nice, Micromania on avenue Jean-Médecin was attacked. Employee Pierre stood in the doorway for some time, next to a large image of Goku from Dragon Ball, attempting to deter looters. He was kicked from behind and struck by thrown objects; the shop was nevertheless emptied. The footage went viral, with Pierre dubbed by some the “French Goku.” He later said he had acted on instinct and did not think he should have done so. But a Parisian developer, Gwendall Esnault, released a free browser game titled Streets of Nice that casts Pierre as the hero in an arcade-style defence of the store. The creator described it as apolitical, saying that all pillagers wear identical costumes and are simply vandals, and attacking peaceful demonstrators or pedestrians costs points.
The French government has promised partial payment of affected workers’ wages for employers with under 250 staff, interest-free loans to help restock and cover immediate cash-flow needs, tax deferrals, accelerated tax refunds, extended insurance deadlines, priority handling and simplified claim procedures, and a specific support fund for the hardest-hit small businesses. All we are left with is the knowledge that French looters prefer Naruto to Asterix…
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