Rotterdam to review late night store openings after Mediamarkt riots

The Rotterdam coalition including its mayor and aldermen will "review" the policy for the late night opening of shops in the city. This was written by Rotterdam Mayor Carola Schouten on behalf of the board of the city council. The reason is the night-time riots last weekend at a MediaMarkt store that had organized a discount campaign. A group of people caused damage, which caused the police to clear the square, and the shop ultimately remained closed.

According to the political leaders, there was no reason to expect that the situation at the MediaMarkt would get out of hand. The MediaMarkt location expected about 600 visitors to the store.

"Based on the information provided and the telephone explanation by the applicant, the Safety Department of the municipality estimated that there was no public order risk. The police had been informed of the regulation. The MediaMarkt promised to hire extra security to manage the flow of visitors," the board reported.

According to Schouten, the riot at the MediaMarkt in the center of Rotterdam was caused by a small group of malicious people. "Our board concludes, based on the information currently available, that a small group of unknown people disturbed public order and caused vandalism."

The mayor added that the vast majority of visitors were patient and behaved well. "Regrettably, the night-time opening of the store could not go ahead, and it is particularly bad that the police had to intervene to restore peace in the city center," Schouten said in the council letter.