France: Yellow Vest protests cost shopping malls $2.27B

By Yusuf Ozcan

PARIS

Weeks of Yellow Vest protests have cost French shopping malls €2 billion ($2.27 billion), a national trade group said on Monday.

In a statement, the National Council of Shopping Centers (CNCC) said that sum was lost to around 280 of France’s 800 shopping malls.

Mall traffic has fallen significantly since the beginning of the protests, the statement added.

During the protests, stores, restaurants, and banks were shut down in areas where Yellow Vest protesters gathered.

Eight people died during the protests, while over 1,000 were injured and over 4,300 arrested due to violence.

Since Nov. 17, thousands of protesters wearing bright yellow vests -- dubbed the Yellow Vests -- have gathered in major French cities, including the capital Paris, to protest President Emanuel Macron's controversial fuel tax hikes and the deteriorating economic situation.

Under pressure from the protests, Macron announced a in the minimum wage and also scuttled controversial fuel tax hikes.