A FRIED chicken giveaway in Paris plunged into chaos when 3,000 people turned up – sparking clashes with riot cops who fired tear gas at customers.
Asian fast-food chain Krousty Sabaidi had planned to hand out 1,000 free meals of rice and fried chicken to celebrate the opening of its new location in the French capital’s 1st arrondissement.
Chaos broke out during a fried chicken giveaway
Police resorted to using tear gas on crowds
Clashes broke out between groups of people and riot police
instagram/@kroustysabaidi.frInfluencer Fares Salvatore promoted the giveaway, attending in person[/caption]
The ‘back-to-school’ event, held on Saturday afternoon near Châtelet-Les Halles, was promoted by influencer Fares Salvatore, who boasts nearly 500,000 followers on Instagram.
But the giveaway, which French police said was attended by 3,000 people, quickly got out of hand.
A massive crowd – reportedly made up of mostly young people – showed up at the restaurant, forcing organisers to cancel the event.
Krousty Sabaidi wrote on social media: “The attendance far exceeded all our expectations, causing a massive influx and crowd movements in front of our establishment.”
As attendees were asked to disperse, chaos erupted.
Riot police were called in, and clashes broke out between officers and groups of people.
Dramatic footage posted to social media shows people pushing through crowds and hurling projectiles at cops.
Riot police are also seen spraying tear gas on attendees and setting up security barriers to disperse the crowds.
Amid the chaos, two people began committing snatch-and-grab robberies and were arrested by officers on site, Le Figaro reports, adding that a third person was also taken into custody.
There were no reports of injuries.
The Paris Police Headquarters confirmed to the French newspaper the presence of a “compact crowd composed of a rather young public gathered outside a restaurant following the announcement of the arrival of an influencer in the establishment”.
The Police Commissioner’s Office shared footage of the unrest, branding it “pathetic”.
In a post on X, the office wrote: “The #Faressalvatore subscribers’ meetup for his #Influencegame concept turns into chaos. Clashes between youths and #FDO, atmosphere far from the influence game. Simply pathetic…”
Krousty Sabaidi later issued an apology on TikTok, saying: “Dear customers, dear friends, today, at 4pm, a festive event was to be held in our restaurant Krousty Sabaidi Châtelet (Paris), in the presence of the influencer Fares Salvatore and the troupe Influence Games.
“This moment was intended to be a time of sharing, joy and conviviality.
“From the first hours, we have been extremely affected by the enthusiasm of the public: the attendance far exceeded all our expectations, causing a massive influx and crowd movements in front of our establishment.
“For safety reasons and in strict compliance with the instructions imposed by the prefecture, we have to cancel the event.
“We would like to thank the security services and the police forces for their support and responsiveness.
“Thanks to rapid and coordinated management, the situation was contained without any major incident.”
The restaurant promised it still plans to give away the 1,000 free meals and will announce a new date for the event.
Around 3,000 people turned up to the event, according to police
x.com/PoliceSCSIRiot police were called in[/caption]
Three people were reportedly arrested