Team Vitality's Paris Headquarters Looted, Trophies and Equipment Stolen
The French esports organisation said its V.Hive venue was vandalised and looted during nationwide demonstrations on Saturday, with no staff or fans injured.
Team Vitality confirmed its V.Hive headquarters in Paris was looted and vandalised during unrest on Saturday, October 17th, with trophies and computer equipment stolen and no staff or fans injured.
The organisation said its display windows were smashed and that the venue would stay closed while it assessed the damage.
"Today, the premises of our club were looted on the sidelines of the mobilisation on October 17," Team Vitality said in a statement on Sunday, October 18th.
"Fortunately, none of our staff members nor any fans were injured. On the other hand, our display windows were destroyed, and our trophies and computer equipment were stolen."
Among the stolen items was the StarLadder StarSeries Fall 2026 CS2 trophy, which Vitality had won less than a month earlier.
The team beat Aurora Gaming 3-1 in the final in Barcelona on September 20th, securing its sixth trophy of 2026 at the time.
Vitality said multiple trophies were stolen but has not yet disclosed a complete list of the missing silverware.
Footage from the incident showed people removing gaming chairs and an individual carrying what appeared to be a computer monitor from the building.
Other clips showed an individual carrying the StarLadder trophy through the streets, and gaming chairs reportedly thrown into a fire burning outside.
The incident took place at V.Hive on Boulevard de Sébastopol in central Paris amid widespread demonstrations across France.
Co-founder and CEO Fabien "Neo" Devide described his heartbreak at seeing a venue built to bring the esports community together become a target of the unrest.
"I just lived a waking dream with our performance in Shanghai, and today, thousands of kilometres away, I see a part of me go up in smoke," Devide said, referencing Team Vitality's VALORANT roster reaching the Grand Final of VALORANT Champions 2026.
He explained that V.Hive was created to make esports accessible, offering gaming sessions for €3.50 per hour.
"Despite inflation, we have never raised our rates," he said.
Devide stressed that he continued to support the right to protest but condemned the looting and destruction.
"The right to demonstrate is a fundamental freedom that I will defend all my life," he said, before stressing that looting and destruction had no place in such movements.
Opened in 2019, the roughly 400-square-metre venue serves as Team Vitality's headquarters and a community hub, housing gaming stations, a café, a merchandise store, and spaces for training and community activities.
The attack on V.Hive occurred as hundreds of thousands of people participated in demonstrations across France over rising living costs, worsening public services, and concerns about education.
French authorities reported clashes between police and rioters in Paris and several other cities, with masked individuals smashing storefronts, looting establishments, and setting vehicles on fire.
French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu reported approximately 1,200 arrests and 150 injured police officers by late Saturday.
Team Vitality said V.Hive would remain closed during the assessment and that it would provide further updates later.
