France's Minister for Finance, Bruno Le Maire, has been leading a PR drive in the US and UK seeking to reassure and attract foreigners back to France in the wake of over a week of rioting that has caused international concern, as measures are put in place to get the economy back on track.
Speaking in English on the US news channel CNN on Tuesday, Le Maire directly addressed international viewers who have been shocked by images of the riots that swept across France following the death of 17-year-old Nahel after a police officer shot him in a Paris suburb last week.
The economy minister described the death as a "tragedy", both "unacceptable" and "unforgivable", before insisting that the unrest would have "no impact on French growth, on the attractiveness of France or on French tourism".
"The French economy is solid, and the daily lives of French citizens are not threatened by what has happened," Le Maire said, adding: "We are returning to a calmer situation."
France remains one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world.
— Bruno Le Maire (@BrunoLeMaire) July 4, 2023
We will do everything to ensure that it remains one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world by naturally guaranteeing the safety of all tourists on French soil. https://t.co/s8SQIficnm
Closer to home, in an interview with the UK's Daily Telegraph, Le Maire said that the safety of British holidaymakers was "guaranteed".
"Our British friends should be delighted to come and visit France and should not be afraid. France is a safe country and a state governed by the rule of law," he assured, despite the images of violent nighttime riots.
Le Maire added that he was looking forward to welcoming King Charles III "in the coming months", without giving any further details.
In March, the British monarch decided not to make a state visit to France because of the unrest caused by anti-pension reform demonstrations.
Reassurances
The French government has already sought to reassure the French public about the possible impact of the riots on tourism in Paris, at the start of the summer tourist season and only one year ahead of the Olympic Games.
According to Minister for Trade and Tourism Olivia Grégoire, "we need to keep our cool – we don't have a wave of cancellations in Paris".
"I don't think we need to add problems to problems", she insisted, because "we're holding firm on tourism".
#Tourisme #Annulations. J’estimais le taux d’annulations possible sur debut juillet pour Paris suite aux émeutes à 20%. Heureusement je me suis trompé, il n’est pas supérieur à 5%, le calme revenant freinant certaines annulations.Les nouvelles resas sont par contre en baisse.
— Jean-François Rial (@jfrial) July 4, 2023
However, according to the head of the Paris Tourist Office, Jean-François Rial, the situation appeared more critical.
Speaking at the weekend, he said: "We've already had thousands of cancellations. At the start of July, I think we're already looking at 20 to 25 percent cancellations in Paris among international customers, and I wouldn't be surprised if the figures were the same for the whole of France."
Rial has since reported that the cancellation figure is, in fact, lower than expected at around 5 percent.
Summer sales extended
Meanwhile, in another move to address the economic impact of the recent violence, the July sales will be extended by a week until 1 August and retailers who so wish will be able to open on Sunday.
This Wednesday, Grégoire announced the measure was designed to help retailers whose business has been affected by the riots.
À la demande des commerçants, nous prenons avec @BrunoLeMaire deux mesures pour soutenir le retour dans les magasins :
— Olivia Gregoire (@oliviagregoire) July 5, 2023
👉🏼Ouverture exceptionnelle des commerces ce dimanche organisée par les Préfets
👉🏼Prolongement d’une semaine des soldes jusqu’au 1er août pic.twitter.com/MwE6MznXdn
She said it was in order to "make up for last weekend", which saw the peak of shops being looted, businesses burned and public buildings attacked.
The first two weekends of July are "extremely important for the sales", Gregoire explained.
"More than 1,000 shops have been vandalised, attacked or set on fire", according to Le Maire. Of the 200 or so food shops affected, 30 had been torched, he said. Most have since reopened. A few dozen clothing shops were also looted.
Most commercial outlets boarded up because of the protests are expected to reopen next weekend.
Urban violence broke out in Nanterre on 27 June, a few hours after the death of 17-year-old Nahel, who was killed by a police officer during a roadside check, before spreading to several towns and cities across France.
