President Trump has blamed France’s immigration policies for recent vandalism and looting that erupted alongside cost-of-living protests, while leaders in Hungary and Poland have pointed to the violence as justification for their own strict border rules.
Trump posted on Truth Social Sunday that “France is burning” and attributed the damage to “the immigration of people from an entirely different world.” He urged French authorities to “close your borders and take control.” On Monday, he told reporters at the White House that he had previously warned French President Emmanuel Macron about allowing large numbers of immigrants into the country, saying Paris “is going to be a Muslim city very soon.”
The unrest began as demonstrations over school conditions, rising living costs, and public services. According to French officials and reporting from Reuters and the BBC, hundreds of thousands of people marched peacefully on Saturday, but violence broke out in multiple cities. Rioters set fire to the historic city hall in Limoges, looted shops in Paris and other cities, and clashed with police. Authorities reported between 1,800 and more than 2,400 arrests nationwide, hundreds of injured officers, and significant property damage. One protester died after a cardiac arrest during a march in Paris; officials said the death was not linked to the clashes.
French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has blamed “ultra-left radical groups” for seeking to create unrest and has imposed localized overnight curfews in parts of Paris and other cities. French authorities have not publicly linked the violence to immigration.
In response, Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar posted on X that the destruction showed why Hungary maintains the strictest possible approach to migration and will not weaken its border policies. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk wrote that Poland “will not repeat the mistakes of other European countries” and will continue defending its borders against illegal migration while enforcing its own asylum rules.
The comments come as France prepares for a presidential election next year and as the United States heads into its midterm elections on November 3. No official French government statement has accepted Trump’s characterization of the causes of the violence.
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