A $100 PS4 Firesale Goes Horribly Wrong as Police Tear Gas Gamers

Incredibly low-priced PS4 offer leads to chaos, police intervention, and teargas as hundreds gather at Lidl store in Orgeval, France.

Lidl in Orgeval, France, has canceled a 95€ PS4 offer after chaotic scenes outside the store this morning.
Hundreds gathered, some even camping out the night before ahead of opening causing mayhem in the area.
The offer was canceled and police intervened, firing teargas to dispel the crowd.

A 95€ (approx $105) PS4 offer at a Lidl store in France ended in tears earlier today as police fired teargas to dispel a chaotic crowd of eager shoppers.

95€ PS4 Special Offer

To celebrate the grand opening of the store in Orgeval, in the Yvelines department northeast of Paris, Lidl planned to flog the Slim 500 GB model of Sony’s popular PS4 console at a price the likes of which we’ve rarely seen before. The console typically sells for roughly 300€ in France.

Yet, news of the PS4 offer leaked out early yesterday courtesy of a picture shared by a store employee before spreading far and wide on social media.

Shoppers camp out for the chance to grab a heavily discounted PS4. | Source: Twitter

Tempted by the offer, crowds amassed at the store hours before opening. Some even camped out in scenes reminiscent of a console launch day. By dawn, hundreds of people had reportedly gathered in front of the store.

Chaos Ensues

Traffic came to a standstill on the adjacent interstate. Nearby roads teamed with hastily parked cars spilling onto pavements. Reports suggest some even drove from as far afield as the northern French town of Lille to bag a cheap PS4.

Crowds swelled into the hundreds. Source: Twitter

As opening time approached, tensions bubbled over as a lone security guard attempted to control an ever-expanding, impatient, and tightly-packed crowd.

Store management then informed shoppers that Lidl had opted to cancel the PS4 promotion. The official Twitter account of Lidl France explained:

Today, we believe that the security conditions are not met to keep the supermarket open. The sale of PS4 is also permanently canceled. We were very surprised by this enthusiasm, and we apologize for the inconvenience caused.