Looters who raided French Apple store mocked as stolen iPhones display 'being tracked' warning

Looters who ransacked an Apple store during riots that erupted from cost-of-living protests across France became objects of ridicule after the stolen iPhones displayed a warning message saying they were being tracked.

According to the New York Post and other outlets, a video that spread after the Apple Store in Lille, in northern France, was looted three days earlier showed a man holding up a stolen iPhone to the camera.

The screen read: "Please return this device to Apple Lille store. This device has been disabled and is being tracked. Local authorities will be notified."

Apple's in-store display devices are configured to detect when they are removed from the premises, at which point they lock down and begin transmitting their location.

Reactions on X, formerly Twitter, were swift. "Protesters raided the Apple Store in Lille, France, yesterday. All-time dumb move," one user wrote. Others added: "Those iPhones will be bricked in two minutes" and "The products will be blocked and their location confirmed."

Luxury stores were also targeted. In Bordeaux, a masked group smashed their way into a Louis Vuitton store, while in the southern city of Marseille, an Hermès boutique and several jewelry, cosmetics and clothing stores were looted. In Paris, cosmetics stores, supermarkets and mobile phone shops were hit.

The French Interior Ministry estimated that around 550,000 people took to the streets that day, while the General Confederation of Labour put the figure at around 800,000. Demonstrators protested soaring living costs and deteriorating school conditions. Most of the marches were peaceful, with families and children taking part, but some masked youths clashed with police and set fires.

In Lyon, a tourist information office was set ablaze. City halls in Marseille, Lille and Limoges came under attack, with flames reaching the roof of the Limoges municipal building.

The BBC cited France's Interior Ministry on Monday as saying that around 2,400 people were arrested and about 1,000 police officers were injured — seven of them seriously — in the protests on Saturday. Some 1,500 shops and businesses were damaged or looted, with an additional 3,000 suffering theft.

Morningstar, an investment research firm, estimated that insured losses from the riots could reach between $1.3 billion and $1.6 billion, nearly double the damage caused by the 2023 riots that followed the police shooting of 17-year-old Nahel.

The unrest grew out of student protests that began at high schools about a month ago and spread nationwide. Controversy over what demonstrators called a heavy-handed police response to those student demonstrations fueled public anger, and on Saturday trade unions and the "Yellow Vest" movement joined student groups in a broader cost-of-living protest.

President Emmanuel Macron said there was "no place for violence in our republic" and vowed to prosecute and punish those who took part in the looting and attacks on public buildings.

France is set to hold a presidential election in six months to choose Macron's successor.