Why the French state is selling off Ferraris, PlayStations and AirPods

Auctions are set to take place in Lyon and Marseille on October 4-5, selling a collection of luxury items including high-end cars, Rolex watches and perfume as well as a PlayStation and AirPods.

The goods come from seized assets obtained through crime.

“More than 200 items of very different types will be on offer in each sale: luxury cars (Chevrolet Corvette, Ferrari, Jaguar, Porsche…), jewellery, gold and diamond pieces, watches (Rolex, Vacheron Constantin…), leather goods, paintings and many other lots,” the Direction générale des finances publiques wrote in a statement.

Prospective bidders can see all of the goods available and sign up to take part in the auction on the Drouot auction house website.

It shows that the black 1973 Chevrolet Corvette has a starting price of €14,000, while the PlayStation 5 with two controllers will start at €450. The red, 1995 Ferrari will be on sale for a minimum bid of €35,000, while a 2002 model will start at €60,000, and the 2015 Porsche Boxster will begin at €29,000.

There will also be Chanel and Dior perfume available for purchase as well as grand cru wines and Dior trainers from €120.

The Lyon auction will take place on October 4 at the Palais de la Bourse in the second arrondissement.

In Marseille, where the car auctions will generally take place, the sale will take place in the Enchères du Domaine on October 5.

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