Hundreds buy the iPhone 5 in Paris (pictures)

Apple's larger, faster iPhone was a hot commodity at Apple's Opera store in Paris. Along with the new customers came a swarm of reporters, along with union officials trying to get better benefits for Apple employees.

Stephen Shankland

Sept. 21, 2012 4:59 a.m. PT

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iPhone 5 on sale in Paris

Mikhail Vorobyev, one of the early customers to buy an iPhone 5 at Apple's store in Paris, shows off his new purchase.

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iPhone 5 customer in Paris

Waiting in line overnight to buy an iPhone 5 is an event to be remembered, not a mere purchase. Here, one customer in Paris uses her older iPhone to take a sweeping video of the line and the store.

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Home stretch

Just before the door to the Apple store is the home stretch for several hundred people who came to buy an iPhone 5 at the Paris Apple store.

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First iPhone 5 customer in Paris

Anthony Fitch holds the first iPhone 5 sold in Paris Apple stores. He waited in line about 40 hours to get the phone.

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iPhone 5 line

The bulk of the line to buy an iPhone 5 at the Paris Apple store wound back and forth between metal barriers.

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iPhone 5 customer in Paris

The press interviews Valentine Nassonov at the arrival of the iPhone 5 in Paris Apple stores.

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iPhone 5 on sale in Paris Apple store

iPhone 5 customers check out the options at Apple's store in Paris.

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Hawking the wares

Where better to find iPhone accessory customers than an iPhone 5 line? Here a representative for Sculpteo pitches custom iPhone cases that feature a cutout sihouette of the customer's profile.

Preaching the unionization gospel at the iPhone 5 launch

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Preaching the unionization gospel at the iPhone 5 launch

Laurent Degousee, secretary of the Solidaires Unitaires Democratiques (SUD) union, stands before the Paris Opera house as the iPhone 5 goes on sale in France's capitol. He was trying to encourage new membership, to get Apple to improve working conditions and raise employee pay, and to mark a strike of 40 Apple employees. The strike didn't seem to slow Apple sales.

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Union protest leaflets

Representatives and memberes of the Solidaires Unitaires Democratiques (SUD) union were at the iPhone 5 launch in Paris to try to win allies for the cause. This is a box of leaflets explaining a strike at the store that didn't disrupt iPhone sales.

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Applause for iPhone 5 buyer

Apple employees applaud iPhone 5 customers as they leave the Apple store in Paris.

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iPhone 5 on sale in Paris

Mikhail Vorobyev becomes a minor celebrity for news media gathered to cover the arrival of the iPhone 5 in Paris Apple stores.

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Head of the iPhone 5 line in Paris

The head of the queue of several hundred people who came to buy an iPhone 5 at the Paris Apple store

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Paris Opera house scultpure

Bored waiting in the iPhone 5 line in Paris? You can always gaze upon the golden statuary across the road.

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Paris Opera house

Lyres adorn the Paris Opera house across the street from Apple's flagship store in France.

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iPhone 5 buyer

A new iPhone 5 customer emerges from an Apple store in Paris.

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iPhone 5 line in Paris

Along the side of the Apple store in Paris, the iPhone 5 line stretched back and forth several times, crossed the street, and continued around the next corner.