Owned by the luxury giant LVMH and inaugurated 10 days ago by Emmanuel Macron, the Samaritaine has become for Attac a representation of “the indecent enrichment of billionaires during the health crisis, with the complicity of the government, particularly that of Bernard Arnault, third world fortune ”. To mark its anger, the anti-globalization association painted black on Saturday the windows of the department store in the heart of Paris.
The mayor of the capital, Anne Hidalgo, denounced on Twitter an “act of vandalism”. On a video posted by the association, we see activists in white overalls spraying brand new windows of the department store with black gouache. They also stick a poster with a photo of Bernard Arnault, entitled “Bernard Arnault, CEO of LVMH, +62 billion euros during the crisis”.
LVMH plans to file a complaint
“The world is marveling at the inauguration of the Samaritaine, a new luxury showcase for the LVMH group, while the first and foremost on duty are still waiting for their professions and salaries to be upgraded, for the hospital system and its staff to be suffocated, that small businesses are suffering, that the poor are getting poorer and the precarious are becoming precarious, ”said Aurélie Found, spokesperson for Attac, on the association’s website. When questioned, LVMH declined to comment, just specifying “consider filing a complaint”.
Besides Anne Hidalgo, other political leaders denounced the action of Attac: “The stupidity has reopened, too”, reacted the Secretary of State in charge of European Affairs, Clément Beaune, while the president of the region Ile-de-France, Valérie Pécresse, underlined that “it is not by attacking our national champions, job creators and engines of attractiveness in the territory, that we will have more social justice! “
Nearly 3,000 jobs planned
Closed in 2005 for safety reasons related to its dilapidation, the famous store reopened on June 23 after 750 million euros of work. The store occupies 20,000 m2 and houses 600 luxury brands combining fashion, lifestyle and gastronomy. Ultimately, the site will employ around 3,000 people between its store, that of the Uniqlo brand, its luxury hotel, its restaurants and offices.