President Donald Trump said Monday that "Paris is going to be a Muslim city very soon" as France's riots enter their most violent days, blaming immigration — "not schools, not anything" — for the burning streets. The White House lawn remarks, ahead of a campaign rally in Wichita, Kansas, drew swift pushback from Paris and even from France's own populist right.
What Trump said
Speaking to reporters Monday, Trump said: "Paris is going to be a Muslim city very soon, and that wasn't the deal... I told Emmanuel, 'You should close up your borders.'" On immigration as the cause: "What's happening in France has to do with immigration — not schools, not anything — it's immigration."
Earlier Monday he posted on Truth Social: "The migrants have taken over France. They must CLOSE THE BORDERS, FAST!" At his Kansas rally that evening he went further, claiming France was being "conquered, looted, and burned to the ground by migrants, jihadists, and communists."
He also described Macron as a friend he has advised for years: "I told him a long time ago, you're making a big mistake in France. You're letting everybody from the world come in." Reports say the remarks were triggered by a reporter asking about Macron's claim that France's discontent stems from Trump's war with Iran. Vice President JD Vance echoed the framing, posting that "Western liberals imported the third world into France."
France's answer
Macron rejects the immigration explanation. On October 18, he attributed the rioting to energy strains from US policies — arguing the skyrocketing prices driving the protests stem from Trump's own war against Iran, "which France was not part of."
In a Sunday televised address from the Élysée, Macron declared: "Those who destroyed must pay. Those who looted must pay back." He acknowledged peaceful protesters' legitimate grievances and promised "concrete proposals" this week. French officials maintain the movement is about affordability, schools and the cost of living — not immigration.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez blamed "extremely violent, radical far-left groups," admitted police "lost control," and offered his resignation — which Macron refused. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu imposed targeted curfews: Paris's first in years, 11pm Monday to 6am Tuesday around Place de la République and Les Halles.
Even Le Pen pushes back
In a striking moment, Marine Le Pen — leader of France's populist right — refused to go where Trump went, writing on X that "Islam is compatible with the Republic; I've said it ten times." Analysts note the White House has taken the crisis and "turned it into a campaign argument" with the US midterms just 15 days away and Trump's approval at a record-low 33% in polling.
The protests by the numbers
Whatever its cause, the scale of the unrest is undeniable. The October 17 national day of action drew 550,000 demonstrators per the Interior Ministry (800,000 per the CGT union), with 110,000 in Paris. Over the weekend, more than 2,400 people were arrested, nearly 1,000 police officers were injured, and some 3,000 businesses were damaged or looted. Limoges' 143-year-old city hall was torched.
The movement's documented origins predate the war of words: student protests began in late September in northern Paris suburbs over teacher absences; on October 5, a 15-year-old lost a hand when a police stun grenade exploded outside a Lens school; unions and left parties then joined the October 17 cost-of-living day of action.
The bottom line: Two competing diagnoses now define the crisis — Trump's "close the borders" prescription versus Macron's cost-of-living explanation — and neither side is conceding as Paris imposes its first curfews in years.
Watch: Times Now report on Trump's "Paris to become Muslim city" remarks — coverage of the US president's October 19 statements blaming Macron and immigration, with the France riots and curfew context.
Music in this post's reel: Kevin MacLeod - Hitman (incompetech.com), licensed under CC BY 3.0
Sources: The Times of India; The Hindu; The Economic Times; CNN