Police have been forced to clear a discount store in the southern French city of Montpellier after it mistakenly advertised TVs for €30.99 ($A65) instead of €399 ($A650).
Management at electronics retailer Géant Casino were forced to call in dozens of police after staff at the store refused to honour the wrong price which subsequently enraged customers who believed they were entitled to the bargain.
Undeterred, the angry customers barricaded the checkouts demanding they got the budget-priced tellys and refused to leave the store. According to media reports some customers had even helped themselves to as many as five of the sets.
Jean-Christophe, who works inside the shopping mall, told Midi Libre: “We are located right across from the Géant Casino checkout lines. I saw a lot of police and a crowd of people. ”
#Montpellier Le supermarché @geant_casino censé fermer à 21h30, est toujours ouvert. Les clients ne veulent pas quitter les lieux et payer leurs #produits au prix affiché. Des dizaines de #policiers sont sur place pour éviter les débordements. pic.twitter.com/PFvEAuJ7lR
— viàOccitanie (@viaOccitanieTV) January 8, 2020
According to French consumer law, a product must be sold at the advertised price. However, that’s not the case if it’s so clearly an error.
Police eventually cleared the store after an hour of protests. Sadly, the customers went home TV-less.
