‘Paris to become Muslim city’: Trump blames immigration for riots, urges Macron to close borders

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump deployed a familiar US playbook in Europe, blaming immigration for the violent riots and protests rocking France while recalling a warning he had given French President Emmanuel Macron.

Demonstrations that began in recent weeks with students protesting deteriorating school conditions and teacher shortages quickly snowballed into larger protests over a range of issues, including the cost of living and anger toward Macron.

The protests turned violent over the weekend, with around half a million people taking to the streets in Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Lille, among other areas.

According to authorities, around 1,800 people were arrested, while hundreds of police officers and emergency workers were injured. In Limoges, a historic city hall that is 143 years old was partially destroyed in a fire.

Photos circulating online captured the chaos unfolding across French cities and towns, with cars and rubbish bins engulfed in flames, shopfronts reduced to shattered glass and thick plumes of smoke billowing into the sky.

Trump blames immigration for violent riots in France

Speaking to reporters outside the White House, Trump was asked about the French riots. He insisted that the chaos could have been avoided if Macron had stopped immigrants from illegally entering the country years ago.

The 80-year-old president claimed Macron’s inaction had significantly altered Paris’s demographics.

“He’s a friend of mine. I told him a long time ago, you’re making a big mistake in France. You’re letting everybody from the world come in,” Trump said.

“The whole world was coming in. And as you know, Paris is going to be a Muslim city very soon, and that wasn’t the deal. That wasn’t the deal.”

Trump reiterated that he had told Macron to “close up” the border when he first took office in 2017.

Trump’s comments came after he urged Macron to close the border in a Truth Social post, saying, “The migrants have taken over France. They must CLOSE THE BORDERS, FAST!”

Macron vows action as France faces violent unrest

The French government introduced targeted security restrictions rather than imposing a blanket curfew across Paris.

Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said localised measures were more appropriate for the time being, while leaving open the possibility of declaring a state of emergency.

Paris police banned demonstrations in certain parts of the capital from 8 pm on Monday, October 19, and imposed a curfew around Place de la République and Les Halles from 11 pm until 6 am on Tuesday. Additional police personnel were deployed to enforce the restrictions.

Earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the destruction in a televised address to the nation, expressing anger and shame over the scenes of violence.

“Nothing justifies it, nothing explains it, nothing excuses it,” Macron said, questioning how French citizens could engage in acts of destruction against their own country.

While French officials have not cited immigration as a factor in the demonstrations or riots, they have blamed a left-leaning political movement.

Macron has said those who have tried “to bring down the republic will be held accountable.”

Lecornu on Monday accused the “ultra-left movement” of “orchestrating profound disorder in the country leading up to the presidential election,” according to reports.