A bizarre incident has taken place in a French Apple store, with an unidentified man entering the retail outlet and methodically smashing thousands of dollars’ worth of iPhones, using a steel ball used for the game boules.
Check out the video below.
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Apparently, the incident related to accusations that Apple had violated the customers’ European consumer rights. “They refused to reimburse me,” he says to the camera in French, after noticing he is being filmed. “I told them: ‘Give me my money back’. They said no. So you know what is happening? This is happening!”
The location was an Apple store in Dijon.
What seems most bizarre about the video is how little anyone does about it. Even after mall security arrive, the averagely-sized man continues acting abrasively toward them, and it is only after he puts his hands on the neck of one of the guards that he is eventually tackled.
Source: Independent
Luke Dormehl is a U.K.-based journalist and author, with a background working in documentary film for Channel 4 and the BBC. He is the author of The Apple Revolution and The Formula: How Algorithms Solve All Our Problems … and Create More, both published by Penguin/Random House. His tech writing has also appeared in Wired, Fast Company, Techmeme and other publications.
18 responses to “Enraged customer smashes iPhones in French Apple store”
French laws does not permit mall cops to actually tackle anyone. They are not allowed to “touch” him either, that’s why they barely touch him with their hands. But once they are physically attacked they can move him and defend themselves.
That is such a very different ideology then here in the U.S.
Maybe things aren’t that serious in France that violence, drug use, mental instability, and crime are very different there. We have a heavier handed response because of those things here. And our laws technically support the use of physical restraint by private citizens and private security alike, very similar to same use of force power that police have. The concept being community accountability if people are willing. Unfortunately, human nature, most people don’t want to get involved theirselves, they want someone else to clean it up for them e.g law enforcement.
Legal liability also tends to cause private security companies to be less physically engaging, often times prohibitively to safety of bystanders and theirselves….it also makes them ineffective to deter crime and allow criminals run wild over them, but great eye witnesses for court room testimony if the subject are ever caught.
Interesting how it all works across the world. Glad this subject didn’t have serious intent to harm others, just act like a mentally challenged idiot smashing things like he wasn’t going to be caught. Was a pretty hairy moment when he had his hand around the guards neck.
He’s had a bad day, and it’s going to haunt him for years. He’ll wake up regretting his actions one day.
I’m guessing that they were holding him until the police arrive. The hands-off approach was a noble attempt but that main security guard was still losing his cool. I think they need to train better for such indecents, but clearly they are very rare.
It would be interesting to get more details and find out what reimbursement he was expecting.
i hope he wakes up every morning with Guy and Pierre – smashing themselves against his rear – in prison.
So, let me clarify here: you’re saying that you hope a man guilty of relatively minor property damage will be raped in prison? Not ok.
no if he can not pay for damages, then let the prison system educated him for his self righteous behavior.
“The hands-off approach was a noble attempt but that main security guard was still losing his cool.”
Imagine for a moment that this incident took place at a mall in the USA.
Think of what the mall security would have done. Now, rewatch the video. These French security guards surely define “keeping your cool”.
The guard was clearly losing his cool. He should’ve restrained him by the wrists, arms, not gone after his throat. Guards are (or should be) trained to use force only to subdue and for self-defence, not react emotionally to personal threats.
Don’t know if I’d agree about loosing his cool, it seemed more to me that it was a serious lack concern or effective training on all of the guards parts and kind of a bravado thing almost, but like the guy earlier posted on here, it sounds like until the criminal puts hands on the security guard and not just an attempt to flee, that guards are not allowed to touch the criminal according to their laws. Hence the guards possible frustration. Once the guy grabbed the guards neck they sluggishly and finally took control and grabbed the guy. It was very strange to see that play out compared to American society.
I can’t believe that the guard wasn’t concerned with knives, guns, close contact violence, or unpredictable behavior. It was more like when we were kids, one of those school yard bullies who never talk but get right up in your face nudging and herding you daring you to do something about it. This guy was going nuts in a store, smashing things with a heavy object held in his hands…and the guard never tries to get him to drop it or control the subjects hands, restrain his movements, lets him do whatever he wants….and then they form a line for whatever reason to block his path in one direction but leave the other path behind him wide open…back towards innocent bystanders and everything after he has demonstrated he can be violent. No command or control what so ever. Just very weird.
Totally agree with everything you said. Definitely seemed like a lack of training, and maybe this incident will be a catalyst for such change.
probably is one of those “new” French people .. mostly Arab and Africans .. basically dirty emigrant people, spreading around their traditional shitty culture all around Europe ..
Well, iPhone 7 is definitely a smash hit.
All I do is smash!!!
The way the security guards handled him was the most bizarre thing in the whole video, IMO
I can’t believe the guy had the balls to to that.
Stupidity more like it. Both the guards and the criminial
He made it worse for himself. That is not the way to handle a dispute. The money he will be paying for damages could have been the money he could pay a lawyer to sue Apple for whatever his complaint was. Dumb people.
That strange sound you hear from the floor is Steven P., turning in his grave! This has to be a breeding issue bedeviling us. Let’s call upon the mind-set of our beautiful non-humans (let’s not call them animals) with the help of some scathing vocabulary. ‘Your Actions Reflect Your Breeding’ is the ultimate signboard, the psychological tool that applies to the doors of Parliaments, highways, public toilets and everywhere in between, Apple Stores inclusive. Seen from a black-and-white view, it is a breeding issue, period. Not just a generation of ‘refinement’ achieved, several. Think of your mother!