Swatch-Audemars Piguet watch launch ignites global chaos, tear gas fired in Paris

From New York to Milan, buyers push and shove each other to get their hands on the ‘Royal Pop’ timepieces

The launch of limited edition Swatch watches descended into chaos on Saturday in several European cities and New York, with French police firing tear gas to restore order at one store near Paris.

Hundreds of people waited through the night – and in some cases for several days – hoping to get their hands on the “Royal Pop” timepieces, made in collaboration with luxury watchmaker Audemars Piguet.

In France, lines of hundreds of people formed through the night in several cities and a police source said officers fired tear gas to control a 300-strong crowd outside a Swatch shop in the Paris region.

A metal shutter and two security gates were damaged in the incident and police said the stores had underestimated the need for security.

Things also turned ugly in Milan, where a fight broke out in front of a Swatch store at opening time on Saturday, according to footage broadcast by local media.

In the Netherlands, police had to intervene at a plaza near The Hague after hundreds of people flocked to the store.