Macron called claims that migration caused France’s riots unacceptable and stupid. He said foreign leaders exploited the unrest.
French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday criticized foreign leaders for using France’s unrest for their own political purposes, calling remarks blaming migration for the riots “unacceptable and stupid.”
Macron said foreign leaders, including some across the Atlantic, were exploiting France’s tense social climate. Asked by a reporter whether he meant President Donald Trump, he replied that Trump was one of them, according to The Hill. Macron said there had been foreign manipulation of information, and he cited AI-generated images depicting scenes that never happened in France. He did not say which images he meant. He said that in times like these, people can see who loves France and who does not.
Credit: AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
Trump has used the violence to claim without evidence that migrants are responsible, and he urged Macron on Truth Social to close France’s borders and take control before it is too late. In the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump said concerns about education or living costs were not driving the protests, and described them as being about illegal immigrants who hate France. He cited Vice President JD Vance, who has also suggested that migrants were behind the unrest, and right-wing leaders across Europe have made similar claims. French authorities have not blamed migrants for the violence. The Associated Press has reported that officials pointed to masked, black-clad agitators, and Macron has blamed far-left activists.
The protests began in mid-September as student demonstrations over dilapidated schools, overcrowded classrooms and teacher shortages. They widened to include demands over living costs and public services. More than 2,500 people have been arrested since riots broke out over the weekend, officials said. Trump has also tied the French unrest to his economic messaging in the weeks before the Nov. 3 midterm elections, The Hill reported, though polling shows his economic policies have grown unpopular among Americans.
Macron and Trump once had a close relationship, but Trump regularly mocks the French president in speeches, NBC News reported.
Information for this report was provided by The Hill, CNN, ABC News Australia, NBC News and The Washington Post.