More than two weeks after the looting of the Decathlon City store on Jean-Médecin Avenue, committed on the sidelines of the protest against the cost of living on October 17 in Nice, nine people were arrested on Wednesday, November 4 and five others are to be referred on Thursday. Aged 15 to 21, the suspects were identified through the exploitation of videos distributed on social networks and announcements published on resale platforms. Six people were referred to justice.
The looting of the Decathlon City on Jean-Médecin Avenue had marked the October 17 protest in Nice. As with several other stores including JD Sports, Micromania or Yamaha, the store had been targeted on the sidelines of the rally against the cost of living, with damage estimated at 120,000 euros. According to initial information reported in the press, 70,000 euros correspond to damage caused and 50,000 euros to stolen items.
On Wednesday, November 4, 2026, nine suspects were arrested in the Alpes-Maritimes and Var departments, before being taken into police custody. According to Nice-Matin, the individuals concerned would be aged between 15 and 21 years old. Eight would have no prior criminal record.
The Public Prosecutor of Nice, Damien Martinelli, however specified that one person was already incarcerated. “One was already detained in execution of a sentence handed down on October 20 for participation with a weapon in an unlawful assembly by a person intentionally concealing their face”, said the magistrate, cited by France 3 Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur.
Looting videos and resale announcements examined by investigators
To find the alleged perpetrators, investigators from the local judicial police service (SLPJ) in Nice exploited images of the looting distributed on social networks. The investigation also focused on announcements published on second-hand sales platforms, notably Vinted and Leboncoin. The objective was particularly to trace the stolen items from the store.
At the end of police custody, three people were released without prosecution. The prosecutor’s office closed the proceedings concerning them, as the evidence gathered did not allow their responsibility to be established. Damien Martinelli specified that the investigations “did not make it possible to charge them with an offense.”
The six other suspects were referred on Thursday, November 5. Among them, two minors were presented to the juvenile court judge. Three adults are to be tried in immediate appearance proceedings, while a fourth falls under a procedure for appearance on prior admission of guilt (CRPC). Searches are also to be conducted to try to recover the merchandise stolen during the looting.
This case comes as Decathlon has just opened a new store on Jean-Médecin Avenue, in Nice. Since Friday, October 30, the brand offers a boutique entirely dedicated to running, approximately 350 meters from the Decathlon City looted on October 17. This new format, already present in Bordeaux, Annecy and Lille, constitutes the fourth store of this type in France. The store offers notably more than 100 running shoe models and a device allowing customers’ stride to be analyzed using connected shoes.
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