Paris, France – As France reels from violent clashes during protests, riots and looting, the blame game is on. One argument making waves across the political spectrum – and across the Atlantic – is that migrants and open-border policies are responsible. That’s about people coming into the countries that hate the country.” French President Emmanuel Macron has since slammed “stupid comments by many, including foreign leaders”, but did not name Trump.
Speaking during a visit in Qatar, he said there was no evidence of foreign interference behind the riots. Young student protesters in France were unimpressed by Trump’s intervention. Bilal Narjissi, a 17-year-old student at the Paul Eluard high school near Paris, one of the first to witness protests, called it “stupid talk”.
We’re focusing on the main subject, which is the students’ demands,” Narjissi said. More than 2,000 people were placed in police custody – the vast majority of them minors – and thousands of businesses were ransacked. Accused of letting the situation spiral, French authorities imposed partial and temporary curfews in certain cities across the country, including in areas of Paris.
While concerns over dilapidated buildings, overcrowded classes and teacher shortages were at the fore, the protest movement quickly catalysed wider discontent over the cost of living and social unease. Italy, Albania and Spain have seen similar demonstrations. French authorities have not linked crime with migration.
The state does not share the identities of people arrested and sent to trial. Under constitutional laws aimed at equality, it is illegal to collect data on ethnicity and race. Both far-right leader and presidential hopeful Marine Le Pen and politicians from the centrist bloc, including Macron and Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu, have accused hard-left groups of fomenting disorder.
The wave of protests seems to have struck a nerve across the European bloc, too. Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar said it was now “clear to everyone why Hungary takes the toughest possible stance on immigration”, posting on X a video showing buildings burning in France. Without explicitly referring to events in France, Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk also weighed in.
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