Paris's Luxury Shops Are Boarding Up in Preparation for the Gilets Jaunes Protests

This article originally appeared on VICE France There is one thing about the gilets jaunes movement in France that stands out from the many, many, many instances of French mass mobilisations gone by. Traditionally, large demonstrations in Paris take place in the east of the city – where not as many things are plated in pure gold. But for the past three weeks, the thousands of demonstrators who are calling for a wide range of social reforms have hit the streets of western Paris, presumably so they can be heard by one of the area's most famous tenants: President Emmanuel Macron.

As well as being home to the Élysée Palace, the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe, the west of Paris is full of luxury shops that haven't really gotten into the spirit of revolution.

In response to the protests and to avoid having to install new windows every week, the exclusive stores have boarded up in preparation for the weekend's riots, to protect their goods from a determined movement that shows no signs of slowing down. The day before the most recent protests, on the 8th of December, photographer Baptiste César strolled around the west of Paris to capture the new shop fronts of high-end favourites like Céline, Balmain and Kenzo.

Scroll down to see more of Baptiste César's photos.