Trump says ‘France is burning,’ blames immigration for riots

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Truth Social that “France is burning,” blaming immigration for the riots that followed nationwide protests over the cost of living, and urged the country to “close your borders.”

U.S. President Donald Trump weighed in on the unrest in France on Sunday, writing on his Truth Social platform: “France is burning! 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!”

The post came after Saturday’s nationwide protests over the cost of living, schools and public services turned into arson and looting in several cities. Organizers said about 800,000 people took part. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said more than 1,800 people had been arrested nationwide and that more than 500 police officers, gendarmes and firefighters had been injured, according to provisional figures.

Riot police outside a looted shop in Paris on Oct. 17, 2026

Paris recorded 855 detentions, a figure described as a record. About 1,500 shops and businesses were damaged, with early estimates putting the cost at several hundred million euros. Police said one demonstrator died of cardiorespiratory arrest, and a 17-year-old in Saint-Étienne lost a hand to a police stun grenade.

How Paris is responding

President Emmanuel Macron was set to address the nation at 8 p.m. Sunday after convening ministers, while his planned Gulf tour on Monday remained unchanged. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, who blamed the “ultra-left” for the violence, postponed a crisis meeting to Monday morning and plans to meet the mayors of Paris, Marseille and Lyon. National Assembly Speaker Yaël Braun-Pivet said she would propose a parliamentary inquiry into the violence and looting, and Greens leader Marine Tondelier called for Nuñez’s resignation.

There was no immediate response from the French government to Trump’s remarks. News reports have cited the cost of living, education and public services as the immediate triggers of the protests; Trump’s link to immigration is a political argument rather than an established finding.

Firefighters put out a burning car in Paris on Oct. 17, 2026