A large police operation was mounted outside the family macaron shop associated with French President Emmanuel Macron as rioters and looters attacked businesses elsewhere in the country, according to reports that emerged today.
Footage recorded during the most intense day of the latest anti-government unrest shows the Jean Trogneux confectionery in Amiens, northern France, surrounded by at least two platoons of CRS officers.
Vans from the elite Republican Security Companies were stationed immediately outside the premises, while other businesses were reportedly left without comparable protection.
The confectionery was established in 1872 by the father of Brigitte Macron, the president’s 73-year-old wife, whose maiden name is Trogneux.
The family business is known for its macarons, with profits from the popular confectionery shared among relatives who own stakes in the company.
Some rank-and-file officers were reportedly frustrated after being instructed to guard the shop while other businesses remained vulnerable to the unrest.
At least 2,000 shops and businesses were targeted during a weekend of rebellion across France. Rioters smashed windows, tore down security shutters and stole stock worth millions of pounds.
The Alliance Police Union responded to the controversy in a statement posted online on Wednesday, declaring: ‘Mr. Macron, the Republic is not your private property.’
Elite police vans were stationed outside the Jean Trogneux confectionery
The Macrons came under fire over the deployment of substantial police resources outside Brigitte Macron’s family business
A fire burns during civil unrest in Paris, France, on October 18, 2026
Demanding an explanation, the union continued: ‘Remind us, Mr. President – do all French people have a right to the same level of protection?’
Le Canard Enchaîné, a respected French investigative publication, reported that the CRS unit had been ‘specifically dispatched to stand guard in front of the shop’.
The business is now operated by Brigitte Macron’s great-nephew, Jean-Baptiste Trogneux.
He lives above the shop and was seriously assaulted in May 2023 after trying to defend the premises during riots over pension reform.
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Three men were prosecuted over the incident, and two were given prison sentences for violent disorder.
As claims of preferential treatment for Jean Trogneux grew, the Prefecture of the Somme, whose capital is Amiens, issued a defence of the Macrons.
Despite the videos circulating online, a statement released on Wednesday said: ‘The Prefect of the Somme denies the allegation that CRS personnel were assigned to protect the Trogneux shop.’
The statement added: ‘Several hundred hostile individuals spent nearly three hours attempting to breach the barricades set up to protect the city centre’s shopping streets.
‘Consequently, a company of CRS was urgently deployed to Amiens to bolster local forces that evening to ensure the security of all businesses in the city centre.’
This photograph taken on April 25, 2017, shows a general view of the Jean Trogneux chocolate shop in Amiens, northern France, which is owned by the family of Brigitte Macron
The store is now run by Brigitte Macron’s great-nephew, Jean-Baptiste Trogneux
A man throws a plastic traffic cone through a burning barricade amid clashes during a day of demonstrations against the cost of living and rising fuel prices in Paris on October 17, 2026
When the worst of the trouble started on Friday night, the Macrons were blasted for attending a Céline Dion concert.
The 48-year-old head of state and first lady were filmed dancing at the pop superstar’s concert in the Paris suburbs.
In what many described as a ‘Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette moment’ – in reference to the French King and Queen at the time of 1789 Revolution – they were in a private box at the Plenitude Arena in Nanterre.
A few hours later, thousands took to the streets, and started battles with heavily armed riot police, including the CRS, while igniting fires.
Marie Antoinette is famously meant to have said ‘Let them eat cake’ when she was informed about the chronic bread shortages that helped trigger the 1789 uprising by French citizens, many of whom were starving.
The latest civic insurrection follows weeks of protests by school and university students against France’s crumbling education system.
They have now been joined by numerous other social groups, including the infamous Yellow Vests – or Gilets Jaunes – who have another mass protest planned for this Saturday.