Galleries at Art Basel Paris sold more than 300 works worth about $147 million across the fair's first two preview days, according to figures compiled by the fair and reported on October 23. The tally shows collectors kept buying through the opening stretch of the fair's fifth edition, even as protests gathered in the French capital and rumours of an early finish spread through the aisles of the Grand Palais.

White Cube placed two paintings by Julie Mehretu at $7.85 million apiece, while Pace sold a Jean Dubuffet painting for more than $5 million. Gagosian placed a late Willem de Kooning canvas for over $10 million alongside a large Jeff Koons bronze of wine corks priced at $4.3 million. Hauser & Wirth sold a Gerhard Richter and a Georg Baselitz, each for around $10 million, underlining how much of the fair's business was done before the public weekend even began.

The mood shifted as the week went on. Organisers announced at about 3:30 p.m. on Thursday that the fair would end at 7 p.m. on Friday, October 23, and stay shut through the weekend, citing planned demonstrations and the safety of visitors, exhibitors and works. Dealers began packing early, and by Friday Hauser & Wirth had cleared its multimillion-dollar trophies from its stand, replacing them with works by Paris-based artist Helene Delprat.

Dealers played down the lost weekend, noting that most fair business happens in the opening days, with David Zwirner putting the first-two-days share at 80 percent. Still, the episode raised questions about staging high-value fairs amid street unrest, with one adviser quoted in the report suggesting Switzerland now looked more attractive for placing valuable works. The fair drew more than 73,000 visitors in 2025, and standard day tickets this year cost 47 euros.