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As France continues to reel from the unprecedented violence that engulfed parts of the country over the weekend, the stories of those who fought back against rioters have sparked a wave of public support.
Millions of social media users have watched the now iconic scene of a gaming shop employee in Nice, identified as Pierre, confronting looters who tried to enter his store – even after one hooded individual kicked him in the back and another person hurled objects at him.
Pierre, who works at a Micromania store, told French TV network BFM that he put himself “in front and hoped that people wouldn’t try to come in too aggressively.”
Locals came to support him, and the mayor of Nice Eric Ciotti also visited him on Sunday, as others scour through videos to help police identify the attackers.
Pierre has turned not just into a symbol of courage in France, but he has also become an icon for gamers. An image of him standing defiantly in the shop entrance next to a poster of Goku, a character from the Dragon Ball manga series, has quickly transformed him into a superhero around the world, with some branding him the “French Goku.”
Another social media video that struck a chord with French society is that of a mobile phone shop owner in Paris, seen holding his head in despair after his store was looted on Saturday.
He was later identified as Hassan and is said to have opened his shop just three months ago.
Another social media video showed the aftermath of his shop’s ransacking.
On Sunday, someone started a public fundraiser to help Hassan. By Monday afternoon, it had raised over €88,000.
New videos have also emerged since Sunday evening showing other heroic individuals taking matters into their own hands and facing off against rioters and looters.
One social media video showed a female shop owner armed with what appeared to be an iron bar pushing back looters in Paris.
At the same time, a Paris resident was filmed pouring what was said to be hot water on looters in an effort to defend an optician’s shop below as it was attacked.
Other social media videos circulating widely in France show a man slapping a looter in Saint Etienne and another stopping a rioter from destroying a bus stop. In Mulhouse, employees of a mobile phone shop were also filmed fighting back against people trying to get in.
Hundreds of police officers, gendarmes and firefighters were injured during the weekend’s violence in France, authorities have said, with around 2,400 people arrested.
French President Emmanuel Macron has warned that those responsible for the destruction “must pay” for their actions and that those who looted “must pay back.”
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu also announced on Monday a “massive” law enforcement operation following the weekend’s events.