USA, Oct 20: US President Donald Trump on Monday (local time) issued a stark warning regarding the future of Europe on Monday, asserting that France and the broader continent face total collapse unless they immediately seal their borders and deport migrants who "hate their countries," amid the ongoing protests.
Speaking to reporters outside the White House, President Trump attributed the unrest in France primarily to immigration, rejecting suggestions that it was linked to education or domestic policy issues.
"Well, France, it is a very sad situation what’s happening in France, because what’s happening in France has to do with immigration, not schools, not anything. It’s immigration," Trump stated. "And I told President Macron, close up your borders. I told him the first time I met him, which was years ago in my first term. Close up your borders, you’re going to have nothing but trouble. And they’ve got a lot of trouble. They let people into their country that don’t love their country, they don’t love their buildings, they don’t love their art."
Responding to French President Emmanuel Macron's remarks attributing the rioting to energy strains and broader geopolitical spillovers from US policies, Trump defended his long-standing advice to the French leader while raising alarms over demographic shifts.
"Emmanuel, look, he’s a friend of mine. I told him a long time ago, you’re making a big mistake in France. You’re letting everybody from the world come in. The whole world is coming in," Trump said. "And, as you know, Paris is going to be a Muslim city very soon. And that wasn’t the deal. That wasn’t the deal. I told Emmanuel, you should close up your borders."
Comparing France's border policies with those of the United States, Trump said, "We closed our borders, he didn’t. And you know what? His borders are a problem, and he also has a little bit of a problem with energy, but they have done, you know, they're doing better than others. But Emmanuel should have closed his borders a long time ago, I told him to do it."
When asked directly about how he views the future of Europe, Trump warned that European nations must carry out mass deportations of violent protesters and criminals to preserve their sovereignty.
"If Europe doesn’t close its borders and bring the criminals out, like the people that protest, Europe is finished," Trump declared. "Europe has to close its borders, like I’ve been telling them for 10 years. They have to close their borders, and they have to take people that hate their countries out, because otherwise they’re finished. They will not have a chance of survival."
Citing unrest in France, Italy and other European countries, Trump reiterated his position that immigration was responsible for the violence.
"When I look at France, when you look at Italy, when you look at all the turmoil and the hatred, that’s not about school, that’s about people coming into the countries that hate the countries. They hate the buildings, they hate the people, they hate the art. They have to close their borders, and they have to take those bad people out," he said.
Trump's remarks come as local authorities in Bordeaux have enacted a week-long night curfew for unaccompanied minors following an outbreak of severe unrest and widespread looting across the city centre over the weekend.
The order was announced Monday by Sophie Brocas, Prefect of Gironde and Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Effective from Tuesday until Monday morning, October 26, the curfew restricts minors under 18 from being in public spaces between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. unless accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.
The measure comes in direct response to riots on Saturday, October 17, which officials described as having "an unprecedented level of violence." Several thousand rioters targeted commercial hubs in central Bordeaux, smashing storefronts and ransacking shops.
Security forces engaged in extensive operations to contain the chaos. In total, 400 police officers and gendarmes, supported by two water cannons and two armoured vehicles, were deployed. Authorities arrested nearly 120 individuals over Saturday and Sunday, all of whom face prosecution.
The curfew specifically targets key commercial streets and public plazas heavily hit by the violence, including Rue Sainte-Catherine, Rue de la Porte-Dijeaux, Cours de l’Intendance, Promenade Sainte-Catherine, Place Saint-Projet, and Place du Général-Sarrail.
Condemning the destruction, Prefect Brocas expressed support for affected businesses.
"What Bordeaux shopkeepers experienced on Saturday is unacceptable. We will build concrete responses together," Brocas declared. "Freedom to demonstrate will never give license to loot."
The decision was made in consultation with Mayor Thomas Cazenave and regional trade chambers. State officials and municipal leaders are scheduled to hold a joint working session at City Hall on Tuesday to evaluate the economic damage and coordinate recovery measures for impacted businesses.
Earlier on Monday, French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu instructed regional authorities to impose “partial curfews” in selected urban areas on Monday evening as the nation grapples with two consecutive days of violent disturbances fuelled by "ultra-left groups", resulting in municipal town halls being burnt down and hundreds of businesses being looted, France 24 reported.
Amid the unfolding crisis, French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday criticised security “failures” that he said led to widespread protests across the country, while rejecting the resignation of Interior Minister Laurent Nunez, France 24 reported. At least 2,400 people were arrested following the unrest, which saw town halls set on fire and hundreds of businesses looted or damaged.