U.S. President Donald Trump called on France to tighten its border controls, attributing recent protests and violence to problems stemming from immigration. France’s authorities told DW.com that almost 2,400 people were arrested across the country’s major cities following riots, looting, and arson. “France is burning! The immigration of people from an entirely different world, people with hatred in their hearts, has shattered that once great country,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Close your Borders and take control, before it is too late!”
Protests over the state of education and the rising cost of living drew around 500,000 people into the streets across France. In the aftermath, some demonstrators looted luxury stores such as Louis Vuitton and Hermès, clashed with police, and set fires throughout the country. The protesters, largely made up of high school students, are urging the government to address the cost of living, higher education, teacher salaries, and rising expenses, and to protect pensions and public services from budget cuts.
The CGT, one of France’s largest unions, has thrown its support behind the movement, calling for lower prices, higher pensions, and better wages. The anger has since spread to fuel prices, which have risen after U.S. strikes effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz, and other economic grievances.
The problems are the French immigrants, says Trump
Trump recounted a conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron where he urged the leader to reduce migration into the country and “take those bad people out.” “I told him a long time ago, ‘You’re making a big mistake in France. You’re letting everybody from the world come in. The whole world was coming in,” Trump told reporters before heading to a campaign rally in Kansas. “As you know, Paris is going to be a Muslim city very soon, and that wasn’t the deal. That wasn’t the deal. I told Emmanuel, ‘You should close up your borders.'”
Roughly 10% of France’s population is Muslim, with the proportion slightly higher in Paris. Most are immigrants or descendants of people from former French colonies in Africa and the Middle East. Trump’s remarks were made in response to a question about Paris, after a reporter asked him to comment on President Macron attributing France’s unrest to the U.S. leader’s war with Iran, which has contributed to rising global fuel prices.
“If Europe doesn’t close its borders and bring the criminals out, like the people that are protesting, Europe is finished. Europe has to close its borders, like I’ve been telling them for 10 years,” Trump added. “They have to close their borders, and they have to take people that hate their countries out because otherwise they’re finished. They will not have a chance of survival.”
During his trip to Kansas as part of a whirlwind red-state tour ahead of the November midterms, Trump doubled down on his criticism, blaming “third-world migrants” and “globalist left-wing politicians” for the unrest in France. “They’ve surrendered their country to vandals,” the president said of French leaders, characterizing the protesters as migrants who “refuse to assimilate” and who “only want to enter the welfare state paid for by hardworking citizens of France.”
Published: Oct 20, 2026 10:00 am