You knew something like this was coming. Today the NY Times published an article by the paper’s fashion critic which compares the looting of high end shops in Paris to the French Revolution.
Author Vanessa Friedman isn’t exactly saying that the looting is a good thing but she is doing her best to make it seem that the looters are part of a larger cause. She wants us to believe they’re not just revolting vandals, they’re revolutionaries.
Amid all of the images and videos that emerged of the riots that took place in France over the weekend, the most shocking are those of the clock tower collapsing in Limoges after its 19th-century town hall was set alight.
Close behind, however, are the shots of looters storming the gates of luxury brands like Celine, Hermès, Louis Vuitton and Saint Laurent, breaking through the plate-glass windows that act as a scrim between the outside world and the hushed interiors that cater to the ultrarich, smashing their sparkling vitrines and looting their goods.
That’s the setup and here’s the socialist special pleading.
…as these brands have held themselves up as the epitome of aspiration and taste, they have also raised their prices to such levels that they are out of reach for almost everyone. They are emotionally and psychologically seductive but practically unattainable. As a result, “most of the younger generation feels excluded from this world,” Carreira said. “There is no more dream, just envy and rage.”
Those feelings found their expression in physical annihilation. By destroying the display windows of the opulent stores, Carreira said, the protesters are destroying a system that dangles only the promise of inclusion. “They escape the norm and reach a form of materialistic fulfillment,” he said.
I thought this was about schools or something. What happened to that? Now we’re supposed to believe the destruction is the rise of the proletariat?
By appropriating the products themselves, many of which have ended up on the luxury resale and black markets, the looters seized some of what had been otherwise denied them and literally brought it out to the street.
In this context, rather than being symbols of artisanship and patrimony, as luxury brands tend to describe themselves and their offerings, their goods become emblems of excess and capitalist rot.
My guess is many of the looters are just thieves looking for a quick buck. But some of the people hiding their identities in Black Bloc probably are anti-capitalists who really see this as their contribution to a greater conversation. That’s not something to celebrate.
Hermes being looted by protesters in France 😱 https://t.co/61tUQ4fqt0
— ماہ زلہ خان (@zalaahhhh) October 18, 2026
The author of this piece is far too sympathetic to the vandals. The anti-capitalists smashing windows don’t have a noble purpose. The rest of us should be able to look at these goons and say they are ignorant and pathetic.
🚨 Protests in Paris escalate as luxury boutiques, including CELINE, Dior, Burberry and Louis Vuitton, are reportedly damaged and looted. What began as student-led demonstrations over school conditions has reportedly grown into wider anti-government protests, reflecting broader social and economic grievances across France. 🎥 @zakariaabdelkafi | @laveulliure | @ctrlibre
— ☻ (@NoExtraFeelings) October 18, 2026
These people aren’t deep thinkers. They’re criminals who found a way to justify their own desire to anonymously break things and steal from people.
Fortunately, some of the commenters aren’t buying the spin. Here’s the top comment:
“emblems of excess and capitalist rot”
Please, let’s dispense with the class-consciousness drivel. These stores are a target because their contents are valuable. This is not a “statement” by a grieved proletariat. If these brands have managed to spark rage because their products are unattainable to most, that’s a reflection on one’s personal values, not on the economic system.
And the #2 comment:
By appropriating the products themselves…” You mean… stealing, right?
I honestly don’t even see these ultra expensive brands as luxury any more. My default assumptions when I see these brands are usually more “middle class with loads of consumer debt” than anything to do with the exclusive/wealthy image they think they are projecting.
These aren’t real revolutionaries. They’re just LARPing thieves.
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