In the same year that France has hosted two of television’s most glamorous and escapist international hits — the final season of Netflix’s “Emily in Paris” and Season 4 of HBO’s “The White Lotus” — the country has been shaken by one of its most violent waves of rioting in decades.
What began as nationwide demonstrations on Oct. 17 over the rising cost of living and deteriorating conditions in public schools descended into scenes of urban chaos. Some 550,000 people took to the streets and the protests turned into widespread looting, arson and clashes with police. Three days later, authorities had recorded 2,397 arrests, and at least 3,000 businesses have been damaged alongside landmarks.
In Lyon, rioters set fire to the historic tourist office on Place Bellecour. In Marseille, masked protesters stormed City Hall and toppled a bust of Marianne, the symbol of the French Republic. In Paris, luxury boutiques were ransacked and storefronts smashed.
Amid the post-apocalyptic spectacle, France has continued to serve as a playground for some of Hollywood’s biggest productions, notably in the French Riviera region, which is hosting the final stretch of filming on the fourth season of Mike White’s “The White Lotus.” Warner Bros.’ “Ocean” prequel, which Bradley Cooper is directing and starring in opposite Margot Robbie, George MacKay and Monica Barbaro, is wrapping its French shoot in Monaco; and Mimi Cave’s psychological thriller “Pumping Black,” starring Natalie Portman, Jonathan Bailey and Lukas Gage, is filming in Nice.
So far, these productions have largely escaped disruption, but the riots have rattled film crews and prompted warnings from Hollywood studios’ security departments.
Veteran French executive producer Raphaël Benoliel, who is currently working on “Pumping Black” in Nice, says the American team was concerned about violence even though the shoot hasn’t been disrupted so far.
“The Americans did ask, ‘Do you think it’s dangerous?’ We told them, ‘From where we are, we think it’s fine.’ And everything has been going smoothly,” Benoliel says.
But when it comes to upcoming shoots, the unrest might impact future decisions over destinations. “The studios’ internal security departments have clearly said, ‘Be careful. Avoid Paris. Avoid Marseille,’” Benoliel says. “That has been explicitly communicated. If you wanted to organize a location scout in Paris today or tomorrow, it’s entirely possible that a studio would say, ‘No, postpone it. Wait.’”
He continues, “Because of what happened, France has now been flagged as a problem area. You know how people say, ‘Don’t go filming in Ukraine right now,’ or in certain parts of the Middle East? Well, now France has been put on that list.”
Still, Benoliel says the South of France — with the exception of Marseille — hasn’t been as affected by the riots as big cities like Paris or Lille.
“When you watch what’s happening on television, you get an impression that doesn’t necessarily reflect the reality on the ground,” he says.
The violence also spooked crew members staying in Nice, where shops were looted over the weekend, says Isabelle Desgorges, a Gaumont executive whose team is handling production services on the “Ocean’s” prequel.
“My entire crew is staying in Nice, so there was a bit of panic, especially because it’s a big American movie. People were wondering what on earth was going on,” Desgorges says. “But fortunately, we weren’t filming on Saturday or Sunday, and our crew wasn’t directly caught up in the violence; they saw it from a distance. Still, it creates a strange atmosphere.”
The production began filming in Paris in late July before moving south to Monaco, where it is completing its shoot ahead of a few additional days filming at a water tank in Belgium.
Desgorges is worried the images of violence spreading on social media and news channels could temporarily give American producers cold feet about working in France for the time being.
“I wouldn’t go so far as to say that Americans no longer want to come to France. But inevitably, it’s going to create some tension for a few weeks,” she says. “It’s a good thing that this isn’t happening in July.”
The riots comes at a time when France has been enjoying a surge in international production activity, particularly in the South of France. Cannes alone had logged 310 filming days by early September, including work on “The White Lotus” and “Emily in Paris.”
The fallout is also being felt by France’s movie theaters, particularly in city centers where curfews have been introduced. Since Monday, Macron has ordered localized nighttime curfews in major cities, including Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Limoges and Bordeaux, among others.
Richard Patry, president of France’s National Federation of French Cinemas (FNCF), says “around 20 to 30 theaters are being affected by curfew measures,” but stresses France counts around 2,500 cinemas, which gives moviegoers plenty of alternatives.
“Clearly, there has been an impact, but it’s impossible to quantify. The only thing I can tell you is that the week ending Tuesday was up 12% compared with the equivalent week a year ago,” he says. “The cinemas that have been directly affected can calculate their losses by comparing their usual attendance with what they’re seeing now, but everywhere else, it’s virtually impossible.”
In Paris, the curfew is impacting the UGC Ciné Cité Les Halles, the sprawling Paris multiplex which ranks among the world’s busiest cinemas by admissions.
The multiplex has moved its last screening to 7 p.m. to allow moviegoers to return home before the curfew.
“Of course, it’s an extremely important movie theater, and closing earlier has an impact. Some people aren’t going there because of the curfew. That’s a reality,” Patry says.
Eric Marti at Rentrak France says the riots coincided with a drop of approximately 100,000 admissions on Saturday compared with the previous weekend, an especially disappointing result given that it marked the beginning of the school holidays. “We should have done better,” he says.
But moviegoing rebounded the following day, with Sunday admissions rising by 80,000 compared with the previous Sunday. “There was a catch-up effect,” Marti says.
Some of the big releases last week included Studiocanal’s “Les Miserables,” starring Vincent Lindon and Tahar Rahim, which had a slow opening weekend and managed to sell 480,822 tickets in its first week.
Overall admissions for the week ending Tuesday were actually up 12% compared with last year, while French box office has been up more than 26% since the beginning of 2026, per Patry.
“Despite everything that’s happening, despite how anxiety-inducing the situation is, people still want to go to the cinema. And they’re going,” he says.
For now, both exhibitors and producers are watching closely to see whether the violence will become a recurring problem in the run-up to the presidential election, with the far right and radical left parties leading in polls.
This weekend promises to be once more packed with action, with another day of nationwide protests slated for Saturday, this time in the presence of military forces. Yet, some major live events are going ahead as planned, notably the NFL’s first game in Paris between the New Orleans Saints and Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. A few days later, the Accor Arena, where Céline Dion performed, is still due to host Macklemore’s “Free Palestine” tour on Oct. 29.
And if there was any proof that live entertainment events could still thrive amid the chaos, it was Dion. Last Saturday, Dion was able to wrap the first leg of her comeback residency in the French capital and return to the five-star Royal Monceau hotel right by the Champs-Élysées avenue, where luxury boutiques including Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior had their windows smashed and merchandise stolen.
The Canadian superstar had also found herself unexpectedly drawn into France’s political debate after President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte attended her concert on the eve of the riots. Their social outing drew criticism in the French media as the presidential couple was accused of being tone-deaf, and were even compared to Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette on the eve of the French Revolution.
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