U.S. President Donald Trump double-downed on his criticism of European immigration policies on Monday, October 19, 2026, forcefully claiming that the violent unrest rocking French cities stems from open border policies rather than economic and social grievances. ​Speaking to reporters at the White House in Washington, D.C. on Monday afternoon, Trump reiterated comments he had made a day earlier on his Truth Social platform. ​
“What’s happening in France has to do with immigration, not schools, not anything,” Trump told reporters. “It’s immigration, and I told President Emmanuel Macron, close up your borders.” ​The unrest in France originally began over student grievances regarding school conditions before broadening into nationwide demonstrations led by labor unions, including the General Confederation of Labour (CGT), protesting against high inflation, soaring energy costs, and deteriorating public services.
​According to figures released by the French Ministry of the Interior, around 550,000 people took to the streets over the weekend, while the CGT estimated turnout at 800,000. However, peaceful marches in Paris, Marseille, Lyon, and Nantes on Saturday, October 17, escalated into severe rioting and vandalism. Protesters set fire to barricades, torched a historic town hall, damaged government buildings, and clashed with law enforcement, leading to more than 1,800 arrests across the country. ​
In a series of statements starting Sunday, October 18, Trump characterized the events in stark terms; “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 posted on Truth Social. “Close your Borders and take control, before it is too late!” ​Trump also recounted a prior conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron, remarking; “I told President Emmanuel Macron a long time ago, ‘You’re making a big mistake in France.
You’re letting everybody from the world come in.’ … If Europe doesn’t close its borders and bring the criminals out, like the people that are protesting, Europe is finished.” ​In Paris, French authorities rejected claims that the violence was tied to border controls, pointing instead to economic factors and fringes of radical agitators exploiting organized rallies.
​In a statement posted to social media platform X on Sunday evening ahead of a planned national address, French President Emmanuel Macron vowed to restore order: ​”We will all stand united against the sowers of chaos, who only seek to undermine our institutions and prevent those who peacefully express their demands from doing so,” Macron said. ​
While French law enforcement agencies continue efforts to clear burned-out barricades and restore order in major urban centers, political analysts note that Trump’s intervention highlights an ongoing divide between Washington and European leaders over border security, national sovereignty, and domestic security policies.
