Swatch Royal Pop Launch Descends Into Chaos: Fistfights, Tear Gas, and Closed Stores

The launch of a new special collection by Swiss watchmaker Swatch, created in collaboration with luxury brand Audemars Piguet, descended into chaos over the weekend. Stores in France and other countries were forced to close as crowds turned violent, police deployed tear gas, and would-be buyers ended up fighting each other.

The "Royal Pop" collection is stylistically inspired both by the earlier Pop Swatch and by Audemars Piguet's legendary Royal Oak. The watches cost around €400 – a fraction of the price of original Audemars Piguet models, which typically sell for tens of thousands of euros. That price gap created a frenzy. In France, the collection was offered in only eighteen selected stores. Many buyers were not planning to wear the watches. They were planning to resell them. On the online platform Vinted, numerous Royal Pop models appeared within hours of the launch, offered at two to three times the original price.

The hype had built for days. Long queues formed well before the official sale began. Some interested buyers camped out for days in front of stores to secure one of the models. In a Paris shopping centre on Saturday morning, police said around 300 people had gathered before the Swatch store even opened. As the launch approached, the crowd pushed forward. Officers used tear gas to push them back. "People couldn't control themselves anymore. They started shouting because no one wanted to lose their place in line," one person waiting told RTL television. The sale was eventually stopped.

Other French cities saw similar turmoil. In Lille, several buyers reported being hit while waiting in line. The city announced it would take legal action against Swatch for obstructing public transport. According to a deputy mayor, the company's own security personnel were completely overwhelmed by the crowds – more than 400 buyers had gathered outside the store. In Lyon, police dispersed a crowd of about 250 people due to excessive congestion. In Marseille, police also had to intervene, asking waiting customers to leave the area in front of the store. In Bordeaux, large groups remained outside the Swatch store even after the Royal Pop models had sold out.

For safety reasons, numerous Swatch stores in France remained closed for the entire day. On Instagram, Swatch France explained the closures as being for "reasons of public safety." The company did not provide information on available quantities or the duration of the sales campaign. It was only known that one watch per person, per day, per store was to be sold.

The chaos was not limited to France. In New York, visitors to the Swatch store in Times Square reported chaotic jostling. One person who had been waiting in line since Wednesday compared the situation to a "mosh pit" – a term from the metal and punk scene for wild crowd movement in front of a stage. Many buyers had camped out for days, sometimes several days before the official opening.

In Germany, police in Düsseldorf and Cologne had to intervene temporarily before stores were closed. In Milan, according to media reports, a fight broke out when the store opened. In the United Kingdom, Swatch pre-emptively kept several stores closed.

On Sunday, Swatch reiterated that the Royal Pop collection is not limited and will remain available for several months. For resellers, however, the first day of sale remains the most important. That is when some buyers will pay a hefty premium just to have the watch immediately. The rest of the world will have to wait – and perhaps, this time, avoid getting tear-gassed in the process. Switzerland's most famous cheerful watch brand just learned that even plastic watches can provoke very real violence.

Written by Thomas Nussbaumer