Carrefour has slashed its full-year profit outlook after widespread riots and looting across France damaged dozens of its stores, disrupted trading and pushed up operating costs.

The French supermarket group warned that the unrest could wipe as much as £174m from its operating income, due to curfews, store closures and heightened security measures.

Around 50 Carrefour stores were directly affected by the violence, with many looted and damaged, while numerous other locations were forced to close as a precaution.

Carrefour now expects adjusted earnings per share to remain flat or grow slightly in 2026, having previously forecast high single-digit growth.

It also lowered its operating margin growth forecast to between zero and 0.15 percentage points, down from its previous target of 0.25 percentage points, and expects a slight decline in free cash flow.

Carrefour chief executive Alexandre Bompard described the unrest as an “unprecedented situation” for the retailer, warning that uncertainty surrounding consumer spending and store operations would continue to weigh on the business.

Carrefour said the disruption was hitting customer footfall, forcing stores to reduce opening hours and increasing spending on security and logistics.

Carrefour finance chief Matthieu Malige said the direct costs of stolen stock, damaged equipment and store closures had already reached tens of millions of euros.

It is also cutting planned investment in France by €100m, reducing its full-year capital expenditure forecast from €1.7bn to €1.6bn.

The retailer did however report an 18 per cent rise in ecommerce sales during the period.

Carrefour warned that further demonstrations planned for 24 October could trigger additional disruption, raising concerns over trading ahead of the Black Friday and Christmas shopping periods.

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