French luxury boutiques board up windows and add guards ahead of Saturday protests

French luxury boutiques boarded up windows and added security ahead of Saturday protests, with some closing after rioters looted shops nationwide last weekend. The measures aim to prevent a repeat of violence that hit Paris, Marseille, and Bordeaux. Stores including a Rolex retailer and De Beers near Place Vendome planned to stay closed, while others like IWC would decide based on protest intensity. Student unions and Yellow Vest groups plan to march over living costs and public service cuts, prompting 70,000 police to be deployed. The unrest adds pressure on luxury brands already facing slowing tourism and weak consumer sentiment, contributing to disappointing quarterly reports at LVMH, Hermes, and Kering. Some shoppers expressed hesitation about returning to France amid the instability.