US President Donald Trump blamed immigration for unrest during protests in France and urged the country to tighten its migration rules.
“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 said in a post on his Truth Social platform.
“Close your borders and take control before it is too late!”
France was reeling on Sunday from the extensive damage caused by the previous day’s protests, which left a historic town hall burned and resulted in 1,800 arrests, adding pressure on President Emmanuel Macron six months before the election to choose his successor.
Trump’s post follows similar remarks made by Vice President JD Vance on Saturday.
“Western liberals imported the third world into France and other countries in the name of diversity and compassion. They ignored fundamental questions of assimilation and compatibility. They were told it would lead to this, and they didn’t listen,” Vance wrote on X.
“I pray that France, a beautiful country of amazing people, will stop this madness before more of its landmarks burn,” he added.
Vance, regarded as a possible presidential contender in the 2028 election, also linked the situation to the upcoming midterm congressional races on November 3, in which Republicans are not anticipated to do well.
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez reported that 1,800 people had been arrested and that investigations were underway “to identify the perpetrators of these acts so they can be brought to justice.”
In Paris, where police said a record 855 people were arrested, numerous streets bore the scars of torched cars, smashed shopfronts, and burnt debris.
During the protests over the cost of living, hundreds of shops were looted in Paris and in other cities, among them Marseille, Bordeaux, Nice, and Strasbourg.
According to the Retail and Trade Federation, roughly 1,500 businesses sustained damage, with losses estimated in the hundreds of millions of euros.
