Stores boarded up their windows and shortened hours in anticipation of renewed looting, though most protests remained peaceful.

At a time when Christmas lights have started appearing in London, retailers in France and Italy boarded up their stores and curtailed opening hours on Saturday in preparation for another day of major protests, following the previous weekend’s demonstrations during which thousands of stores were damaged or looted.

Although Saturday’s marches in both countries were mostly peaceful, with isolated pockets of violence, the retail sector was left tallying the cost of lost business in the runup to the crucial holiday season — not to mention additional expenses linked to increased security measures. The lost business came on top of the costs of repairing the damages from the Oct. 17 marches.

“Compared with last Saturday, yesterday was a relief. But the precautions taken to protect shops and their staff are having an impact on business,” Judith Jiguet, executive director of the French Retail Federation, said in a statement Sunday.

“Shutting shop or erecting barricades cannot become the new normal. Retailers are essential to the life of our town centers: They must be able to rely on the public authorities to ensure their safety,” the executive added.

The federation, whose members include Galeries Lafayette Group, sporting goods retailer Decathlon and supermarket chains including Carrefour, E.Leclerc and Monoprix, said it remained “particularly vigilant” ahead of Nov. 5, when French unions have called for nationwide strikes.

Apple closed all three of its Paris stores on Saturday, but LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton said it planned business as usual.

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