A Gucci store in Saint-Tropez is attacked by a six-meter giant snake

An intriguing sight outside the luxury boutiques of Place de la Garonne this Thursday morning. After the Gucci boutique in Cannes the day before, celebrating World Snake Day, it was the turn of the Kering group's Saint-Tropez retailer this Thursday morning to see a six-meter-long reptile with a human torso coiled in front of its window.

Militant action under surveillance

In the animal's shoes, PETA France spokesperson Natasha Garnier. For nearly thirty minutes, wearing scaly makeup, she lay on the sidewalk, holding fake bags with blood-stained slogans, to get her message across.

"This action denounces the suffering of snakes and other animals slaughtered for the manufacture of bags, watch straps and other accessories sold by the brand and is part of the association's campaign calling on the luxury house to give itself a makeover by switching entirely to vegan leathers. Snakes are sensitive animals that feel pain. They are skinned alive, inflated with air or water to better peel off their skin before ending up as luxury items... These practices from another time are no longer tolerable," criticizes the Lyon activist after shedding her skin by taking off her costume shortly before 11 a.m.

A "peaceful" action which did not cause any disturbance to public order, but did mobilize some gendarmes and municipal police officers.

On the lands of the Pinault family

"There is no procedure. The association is following the rules. The demonstration declaration was made to the prefecture and everything is proceeding peacefully. We are simply taking down the identities of the four PETA members," explained the senior gendarme in charge of surveillance operations, while two soldiers took up positions in the store, which remained open to customers but whose managers did not wish to "react."

"I hate eco-fatwas. We have to distinguish between wild and farmed snakes, but the world needs whistleblowers and I respect their action, especially since it is non-violent," comments Jérôme, a father from Strasbourg on vacation on the peninsula who feels sorry for the activist, motionless in the full sun on the asphalt.

Other passersby take selfies to feed the networks in front of this unusual scene without trying to understand the message that winds behind it...

"We're not targeting the public, but the Gucci company, so that they can get involved!" Natasha reframes, noting that she didn't choose her "target" by chance. Saint-Tropez is, of course, the "country" of Brigitte Bardot, but also the holiday resort and residence of the Pinault family, founders of the Kering group.