Trump says 'France is burning' and urges it to close its borders
The US President blamed immigration for the violence after Saturday's protests in France. French leaders have blamed far-left groups and criminals; no French government response to his post had been reported as of 10pm GMT.
US President Donald Trump blamed immigration for the violence that followed Saturday’s cost-of-living protests in France, in a post on Truth Social at 12:11pm GMT on Sunday 18 October.
“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!” Trump wrote.
Post by Donald J. Trump on Truth Social, 18 October 2026, 12:11pm GMT
The post followed one by Vice President JD Vance, who wrote on X that “Western liberals imported the third world into France” (our earlier report).
French leaders have attributed the violence to other groups. In a televised address on Sunday evening, Paris time, President Emmanuel Macron blamed “factious groups from the ultra-left, joined by numerous delinquents”, according to The Guardian’s translation, and said prefects could ban certain gatherings if necessary. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez has blamed far-left individuals who he said were joined by “criminals” who looted shops.
In Australia, One Nation leader Pauline Hanson said in a social media post on Sunday night that the protests in France were a consequence of “mass migration”, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.
The protests began last month over conditions in schools and grew into nationwide demonstrations against the rising cost of living, Politico Europe reported. The Interior Ministry put Saturday’s turnout at 550,000; organisers said 800,000.
The reports reviewed for this story did not include a French government response to Trump’s post as of 10pm GMT on Sunday.
Sources
- Post by Donald J. Trump on Truth Social · Truth Social
- Macron to address France after Trump describes country as 'burning' · Politico Europe
- Protests in France: Emmanuel Macron addresses nation as cost of living, education protests intensify in cities · The Sydney Morning Herald
- Macron criticises 'unbridled violence' after days of unrest and 2,400 arrests across France · The Guardian
- Australia news LIVE: Jordon Steele-John speaks after allegations revealed; France protests continue over cost of living; RBA issues inflation warning as Middle East war broadens · The Sydney Morning Herald
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