French businesses began assessing extensive damage on Sunday after cost-of-living protests descended into violence and widespread looting across the country, leaving shops vandalised, streets littered with broken glass and hundreds of workers facing disruption.

Authorities reported looting in major cities including Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Bordeaux, Rennes, Strasbourg, Grenoble, Nice and Limoges. Targets included supermarket chains Carrefour, Franprix and Monoprix, as well as luxury boutiques, bars and vape shops.

Groups of masked individuals, many dressed in black, smashed shop windows and forced open metal shutters before taking goods from shelves. In Paris, residents emerging from their homes on Sunday encountered debris and damaged storefronts following Saturday’s unrest.

Alexandre Bompard, chairman and chief executive of Carrefour Group, said 50 of the company’s stores had been targeted, including 19 Carrefour convenience stores and supermarkets. The affected premises included locations in Paris, Rennes, Lille and Bordeaux.

Bompard also expressed solidarity with retailers across the country, saying around 1,500 shops belonging to other chains and independent businesses had suffered similar violence.

He warned that the destruction would have serious economic and human consequences. Repair costs for Carrefour’s affected premises alone were expected to exceed €10 million, while dozens of employees working for franchise partners could be placed on reduced working hours.

For independent shopkeepers, the damage threatened livelihoods built over years of work. One business owner near Place de la République in Paris told the French media outlet Brut that he had invested all his savings in his shop and feared he had lost everything.

“I don’t know how I’ll get by or how I’ll live with my family,” he said. A neighbour subsequently organised a fundraising effort to help him rebuild his business.

Paris Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire pledged support for businesses affected in the capital and requested an emergency task force to assist shopkeepers whose premises had been vandalised.

The proposed team will assess damage, help businesses navigate administrative procedures and provide assistance with insurance claims, Grégoire said.

The unrest also affected journalists covering the demonstrations. A Euronews reporting crew was assaulted near Place de la République on Saturday while documenting the looting of an Intermarché Express supermarket.

Paris correspondent Estelle Nilsson-Julien said masked individuals confronted the crew after noticing they were filming. The attackers allegedly punched the cameraman, pushed him against a wall and attempted to seize his microphone. Nilsson-Julien said she was also struck during the incident.

Elsewhere in Paris, a separate march along Boulevard de Clichy towards Place de Clichy remained peaceful, according to another Euronews journalist.

French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said on Sunday that more than 600 police officers, gendarmes and firefighters had been injured during Saturday’s unrest. Authorities had arrested more than 2,000 people as officials faced mounting pressure to restore order and support affected businesses.

An oil super tanker carrying more than two million barrels of crude caught fire after striking a sea mine in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Saturday, escalating tensions around one of the world’s most important energy shipping routes.

In a statement carried by Iranian state media, the IRGC navy said the vessel hit a mine while attempting to navigate what it described as an unauthorised route through the strait. The impact triggered a massive explosion and a fierce fire, according to the statement.

The exact location of the incident, the identity of the tanker and the extent of any damage or casualties were not immediately clear.

Iran’s Fars news agency published video footage that appeared to show the vessel engulfed in flames. The IRGC navy accused the tanker of switching off its positioning and radar systems in an attempt to avoid detection while passing through the waterway.

“The Strait of Hormuz is closed, and the consequence of defying Iranian regulations in the Strait of Hormuz is burning in the fire of trust in the terrorist US army,” the IRGC navy said in its statement.

The claim could not be independently verified from the information immediately available.

The Strait of Hormuz, located between Iran and Oman, is a vital passage for global energy supplies. Before the current conflict, it carried around a quarter of the world’s seaborne oil trade, alongside substantial volumes of liquefied natural gas.

The waterway has become a major flashpoint since the war involving Iran, the United States and Israel began in late February. Iran effectively restricted passage through the strait following US and Israeli strikes, disrupting shipping and raising concerns about the security of international energy supplies.

Washington subsequently imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports, adding another layer of pressure to the confrontation between the two countries.

The US military has repeatedly rejected Iranian claims of control over the strait, maintaining that commercial vessels have continued to operate in the area despite what it describes as aggression by the IRGC.

Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of US Central Command (CENTCOM), said on Friday that American forces were coordinating with regional allies and shipping industry partners to help protect vessels travelling through the waterway.

“Let me be clear, the Strait of Hormuz is controlled by the United States and our regional partners, not Iran,” Cooper said. “It remains open for business.”

The reported tanker fire highlights the continuing risks to commercial shipping as Washington and Tehran maintain opposing positions over access to the strait. Any sustained disruption could have significant consequences for oil transport, energy prices and international trade.

Asian stock markets fell sharply on Thursday as concerns over technology valuations and rising US inflation triggered a broad sell-off, with South Korean and Japanese shares recording heavy losses. European markets opened mixed, while US stock futures pointed to further weakness on Wall Street.

South Korea’s benchmark Kospi index dropped 7.7 per cent to 5,548.78, moving further below the record levels reached during the artificial intelligence investment boom. The index had crossed 9,000 in June as enthusiasm for AI-related companies drove markets higher.

Samsung Electronics shares fell 9.5 per cent, while SK Hynix, one of the world’s leading memory chipmakers, plunged 11.4 per cent.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined 4.8 per cent to 64,489.06. SoftBank Group, an investor in OpenAI, lost 9.4 per cent, while chip equipment maker Tokyo Electron dropped 7.3 per cent. Memory chipmaker Kioxia Holdings fell 11.2 per cent.

Other Asian markets also traded lower. Taiwan’s Taiex index dropped 3 per cent, while shares in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) fell 2.2 per cent ahead of the company’s earnings report. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index declined 1 per cent to 24,071.25, and the Shanghai Composite fell 1.4 per cent to 3,713.22.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged down 0.1 per cent to 8,715.60.

The declines reflected growing caution among investors over the scale of spending on artificial intelligence and the high valuations of technology companies that have benefited from the rapid expansion of the sector.

Wall Street losses weigh on global markets

The Asian sell-off followed a weaker session on Wall Street on Wednesday, when technology shares led the market lower.

The S&P 500 fell 1.1 per cent, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.9 per cent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.1 per cent.

Nvidia shares declined 3.2 per cent, Broadcom lost 3.1 per cent and Advanced Micro Devices fell 5.7 per cent, reflecting renewed pressure on companies closely linked to the AI boom.

Investor sentiment was also affected by US inflation data released on Wednesday. The consumer price index rose 3.7 per cent year-on-year in September, accelerating from 3.4 per cent in August and exceeding economists’ expectations.

The higher inflation reading raised concerns about the outlook for interest rates and the potential impact on corporate earnings and equity valuations.

European markets open unevenly

European shares showed a mixed response at the start of trading on Thursday.

Germany’s DAX fell 0.13 per cent to 25,272.07 points, while France’s CAC 40 rose 0.42 per cent to 7,905.62. The broader Stoxx 600 slipped 0.11 per cent to 637.02, while London’s FTSE 100 advanced 0.42 per cent to 10,769.21.

US equity futures also declined, signalling that investors remained cautious following the previous session’s losses.

The latest market moves highlight the sensitivity of global equities to inflation figures and changing expectations for technology sector growth. After months of strong gains driven by artificial intelligence, investors are increasingly scrutinising company valuations and the sustainability of spending on AI infrastructure.