A company that planned to hand out €100,000 in cash to thousands of people in Paris is facing legal action after the stunt was cancelled at the last minute and turned into a riot.
According to police, about 7,000 people gathered on the Place Joffre at the far end of the Champ de Mars, overlooking the Eiffel Tower, shortly after midday on Saturday for the handout.
The Interior Ministry has begun legal proceedings against Mailorama.fr, which was planning to throw 5,000 packages containing between €5 and €500 in banknotes to the public from red London double-decker buses.
Despite receiving a formal authorisation from police for the handout to go ahead, the company was asked to cancel at the very last minute because police noticed a large number of people were descending on the area and disrupting traffic.
