By The Epoch Times | Created at 2026-10-19 18:41:26 | Updated at 2026-10-19 19:21:13
50 minutes ago
U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance said that mass immigration is the reason for riots that have spread across France in recent days, saying that the country needs to take action soon.
Over the weekend, riots and looting spread across the country as France’s central government on Oct. 19 ordered some local authorities to impose curfews. The weekend of violence between protesters and police followed weeks of what some have described as student demonstrations, rocking France six months ahead of its next presidential election.
“The migrants have taken over France,” Trump wrote Monday in a Truth Social post, responding to a weekend of unrest. “They must CLOSE THE BORDERS, FAST!”
On Sunday, Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social that included a Fox News video of the riots that the “immigration of people from an entirely different world, people with hatred in their hearts, has shattered that once great country. Close your Borders and take control, before it is too late!”
Vance also wrote in a statement on X over the weekend that mass migration was to blame for the chaos, saying “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,” he added on X, reposting a video of a building in France on fire.
“I pray that France, a beautiful country of amazing people, will stop this madness before more of its landmarks burn,” he also said, adding: ”And I hope Americans are paying attention. This is the future congressional Democrats seek for your country.”
In response to the riots, French President Emmanuel Macron vowed that rioters and looters will face consequences for the damage they’ve caused.
“Those who destroyed must pay, those who looted must repay, and those who sought to bring down the Republic will have to answer for it,” Macron told the French nation in a televised address on the night of Oct. 18, following nearly 2,400 arrests.
Speaking of “a moment of extreme gravity,” Macron said the riots and destruction were caused by “seditious elements from ultra-left splinter groups, joined by many criminals.” He noted the burning of the 19th-century City Hall in Limoges in central France.
Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu on Monday ruled out a blanket curfew in Paris but not a state of emergency. He said it was more appropriate for now to apply partial and localized curfews, without providing details.
A television monitor broadcasts France's President Emmanuel Macron giving a speech from the Elysee Presidential Palace and subtitles reading, “Those who tried to bring down the Republic will have to answer for it,” the day after riots and looting on the sidelines of nationwide protests, in Paris on Oct. 18, 2026. Ludovic Marin/AFP via Getty Images
“My determination to restore order is absolute,” he told reporters. Ariel Weil, the Socialist mayor of central Paris, said on BFM TV that he also favored a curfew.
French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said the country deployed 60,000 police and other security forces on Saturday, but he acknowledged that it was not enough to control the violence.
There were further clashes between police and rioters in Paris and Marseille on Sunday, officials said.
Reuters contributed to this report.
