Trump Blames Migrants and Communists for France Unrest at Rally
Donald Trump used a rally in Kansas to portray unrest in France as a warning for US voters ahead of the midterm elections. The protests began over school…
France’s unrest has become a political argument in the United States. At a rally in Kansas on Monday evening, US President Donald Trump blamed migrants, jihadists and communists for the violence, presenting France as a warning to American voters ahead of the midterm elections.
Trump attacks migrants communists as Republicans face political headwinds before November’s midterms. His remarks recast protests that began over schools and the cost of living as a case against immigration, while demonstrations in France have also brought looting, clashes with police and 1,800 arrests.
“If you want to see what is at stake in this election, just look at what’s happening in France,” Trump told the crowd.
The protests began weeks ago, when high school students marched over teacher shortages, deteriorating classrooms and an opaque university admissions system. The CGT, one of France’s largest unions, backed the movement and called for lower prices, higher pensions and better wages.
The grievances later widened. Nationwide protests on Saturday were called over rising fuel prices and falling purchasing power. In several cities, demonstrations gave way to looting and clashes with police. A historic town hall was set on fire, and some cities issued overnight curfews on Monday, including parts of Paris.
Trump links France unrest to US election
Trump told supporters the unrest could happen in the United States, but insisted it would not. “This is what’s happening to France – they want to happen to our country. It’s never happening here,” he said, drawing loud cheers from the crowd in Kansas.
The political stakes were local as well as national. Republican senator Roger Marshall faces a tough challenge from Democrat Adam Hamilton, according to The Guardian’s report from the rally.
Earlier that day, Trump repeated a claim that migrants had “taken over” France in a post on Truth Social, urging the country’s leaders to “CLOSE THE BORDERS, FAST!” At the White House, he said he had warned French President Emmanuel Macron that he was “making a big mistake”.
“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,” Trump told reporters, adding: “We closed our borders. He didn’t.”
The remarks came as Trump sought to use turmoil abroad to reinforce his hard-line immigration message at home. The Guardian reported that footage of the unrest played on giant screens before he took the stage in Park City, Kansas. The Fox News coverage included commentary blaming the trouble on France’s immigration policies.
The protests also carry direct consequences for people in France: curfews restrict movement in affected areas, while clashes and arrests have accompanied demonstrations over household pressures and public services. The Guardian reported that fuel prices had climbed after US strikes effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz, adding to the economic grievances fueling anger.
Republicans echo immigration argument
Trump’s framing has been echoed by other Republicans. Vice-President JD Vance shared a video showing the historic city hall in Limoges on fire and blamed what he called a liberal failure.
“Western liberals imported the third world into France,” Vance wrote on X, adding that the country had “ignored fundamental questions about assimilation and compatibility”. The official White House X account also posted: “If you import the third world, you become the third world.”
The Guardian said the unrest has added pressure on Macron six months before an April election to choose his successor. It also reported that Trump and Vance have publicly backed Marine Le Pen, while Jordan Bardella, president of France’s far-right National Rally, described the violence as a convergence of ultra-left extremism and delinquent populations from the suburbs.
The reporting does not establish that immigration caused the protests. It traces their origins to student demands over schools and admissions, union-backed calls for better pay and pensions, and anger over prices. Trump’s rally message instead presented the French unrest as a warning about immigration for American voters.
At the rally, Trump told the crowd: “It’s never happening here.”
Source: theguardian.com
