PARIS: Images of riots in France, posted and broadcast around the world, have cast a pall over the country’s important tourism sector, with many fearing worse consequences if the violence returns.
“The surge of violence in the centres of Nice, Paris and Lyon — it’s catastrophic,” said Christelle Cassagne, head of ADN Tourisme, the body representing the country’s tourism institutions.
“When you book a hotel for a week, it’s not so you can stay cooped up in the hotel,” she said.
Scenes of clashes with police, public buildings on fire, shops being looted and masked young men roaming the streets have shocked and captivated international news audiences since last weekend.
The violence has overshadowed the usual curated footage of genteel cafes favoured by influencers, who have suddenly taken to asking, “Is Paris safe?” Many have used AI in thumbnails or even in their videos to boost click-through rates.
Even in Paris, some tourists who witnessed the upheaval on the streets first-hand are looking for a way out, while others planning to visit have become hesitant.
“Honestly, we were not certain that we’d keep our stay,” an Indian businessman staying at a pricey Paris hotel said, declining to give his name.
Hotel reservations are already weakening in major cities such as Paris, Lyon and Marseille, according to Didier Arino, head of the consulting and research firm Protourisme.
For a country accustomed to welcoming 100 million visitors a year, who spend more than 70 billion euros ($80 billion), this is a concern.
Arino and other observers interviewed by AFP said the overall outlook for France’s tourism industry would depend on whether further violence broke out in the coming weeks.
“The impact of a day of rioting and urban violence in the heart of Paris caused around a one-per-cent cancellation rate for the monthly count in the days following, and the same for the following weeks,” Arino said.
“For the 42 million hotel nights forecast for 2026, that’s not major. But be careful not to underestimate the effects of repeated incidents.”
The impact could also extend to tourism revenues, as visitors from those countries often have greater spending power than Europeans.
Travel advisories
The downward pressure on reservations comes as several countries, including the United States, China and Germany, have issued travel advisories for their citizens in France.
“The further away the clients are, the more sensitive they are to safety risks, and the stronger the impact,” Arino said.
Laurent Abitbol, head of the executive board of travel agency group Selectour, said: “If this lasts two weeks, that’s not so serious. However, if this continues for several months, it will be catastrophic.
“When you watch CNN, or Fox News, BBC, all that, you’d believe that France is at war. That’s not good…”
Another firm, MKG Consulting, said that Paris hotels had lost potential bookings for the following six weeks since last weekend.
Its data showed that bookings had weakened sharply within a day.
Between October 19 and 20, the share of rooms booked for stays from October 20 to 29 fell from 1.0 percentage point above the level recorded for the same period in 2025 to just 0.2 percentage points higher.
For stays between October 20 and 25, the increase over 2025 levels also narrowed significantly, dropping from 3.5 percentage points to 1.9 points.
“This slowdown is especially notable for near-term and high-end stays,” it said, drawing a parallel with December 2018, when Yellow Vest protests swept through the capital’s streets.