France, which is currently on its fifth republic since 1792, is no stranger to revolt. It is, however, increasingly faced with revolts staged by strangers.
For instance, the race riots of June 2023 — which left 2,508 buildings and 12,031 vehicles smoldering, two dead and thousands wounded — started in migrant communities and often featured young men of Arab and African descent.
'This is the future congressional Democrats seek for your country.'
The riots that swept France in May and left hundreds of police officers injured were, according to National Rally party president Jordan Bardella, largely the work of thugs who are "physically in France, but whose spirit and heart is elsewhere."
In the company of domestic radicals, violent strangers waving foreign flags have once again taken over French streets, launched vicious assaults on police, gutted thousands of businesses, and destroyed historic sites such as Limoges' iconic 143-year-old town hall.
French President Emmanuel Macron claimed in a speech on Sunday that the "French people" are to blame for the latest escalation in the rioting. Not all are convinced, however, that the Western European nation's current problems are homegrown.
President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and some European officials have argued instead that France is reaping the consequences of unchecked third-world immigration and failed assimilation.
Escalation
The riots underway grew out of mid-September "protests" in migrant-heavy suburbs, reportedly over the quality of the nation's public high school education. In the weeks since, the rioters have added to their list of grievances and to their list of victims.
French conservative activist Thaïs d'Escufon told Blaze News that "what started as student protests, mainly led by the far left, has turned into ethnic riots that are spiraling out of control. Immigrants have become the street-level enforcers of the far left, spreading chaos, looting, vandalizing, stealing, and setting things on fire. It is an unholy alliance."
D'Escufon noted further that the French are "no longer able to contain the consequences of 50 years of disastrous immigration policies. I believe that many immigrants and their descendants have not only failed to integrate, but that some seize every opportunity to express their hostility toward France."
There was significant escalation in the violence on Saturday — an escalation that proved too much for police to handle in numerous cities.
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According to the French Ministry of the Interior, around 550,000 people "demonstrated" across France on Saturday, and over 500 police officers, paramedics, and firefighters were injured in the riots.
"On the sidelines of these marches, vandals chose violence," continued the ministry. "Across the entire territory, they targeted public buildings that serve citizens, such as town halls or prefectures, but also numerous businesses: They were attacked, ransacked, looted, and some even set on fire. Nothing justifies these acts!"
Alexandre Bompard, the head of the retail federation FCD, estimated that around 1,500 stores were "looted and ransacked across France."
The mayor of Paris, Emmanuel Gregoire, said that the looting committed on Saturday was "intolerable" but also added that the public should not lose sight of the aspirations of the "very large majority of those who mobilize peacefully."
While 60,000 cops and security personnel were mobilized across France on Saturday, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez admitted that they were unable to restore order in "certain cities," reported Reuters.
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Nunez submitted his resignation, stating that he was "responsible for everything that is happening."
Macron did not accept Nunez's resignation, though the president's office has tasked the minister with figuring out a way to "put an end to the barricades and lootings," as well as with ensuring "transparency regarding the failures in foresight and intelligence that led to the violence."
Around 1,800 radicals were reportedly arrested on Saturday.
France's 'French' problem
Macron addressed the wanton destruction on Sunday, stating, "Seditionists from far-left fringe groups, joined by many criminals, engaged in unbridled violence in our cities. Shops were looted. Public buildings, stores, and town halls were attacked, and some were destroyed. Several hundred police officers and gendarmes were injured," according to a translation.
The president suggested that the antagonists were domestic, wondering, "How can French people do this to France? Why burn down the town hall in Limoges, the tourist office in Lyon, storm the town hall in Marseille, or attack the prefect’s residence in Bordeaux? How could they come to this?"
President Donald Trump has repeatedly insisted that the "French people" are not doing this to France.
Earlier this month, the American president concluded that "what's happening in France is nothing less than out of control mass migration."
On Sunday, Trump wrote, "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!"
"The migrants have taken over France," added Trump.
'They hate everything France represents.'
After radicals set the town hall of Limoges aflame, Vice President JD Vance tweeted, "Western liberals imported the third world into France and other countries in the name of diversity and compassion. They ignored fundamental questions of assimilation and compatibility. They were told it would lead to this and they didn't listen."
"I pray that France, a beautiful country of amazing people, will stop this madness before more of its landmarks burn," continued Vance. "And I hope Americans are paying attention. This is the future congressional Democrats seek for your country."
D'Escufon told Blaze News that Trump "is obviously right. You only have to look at the footage to see who the rioters are."
"Of course, there are a few native French people who have been indoctrinated, who have undergone a sort of reverse assimilation," continued d'Escufon. "But the overwhelming majority fit the same profile. You can hear it in their chants, you can see it when they spare Muslim-owned businesses. And you can see it in their graffiti, like at the Blanche metro station in Paris, where someone spray-painted: 'France is not only white.' We are used to these riots in France, although this time they have taken on a much larger scale, and the entire world is watching."
As for Macron's speech, d'Escufon noted, "The reality is precisely that these rioters are not French, and that is exactly why they behave this way. I believe they are driven by a desire for post-colonial revenge against us."
"They hate everything France represents, including its institutions. That is why they attack the police. That is why they even attack firefighters, whose very purpose is to protect and save lives," added d'Escufon. "Meanwhile, the media have continued to describe these events as student riots."
Neither Macron's office nor the National Rally immediately responded to Blaze News' request for comment.
Some European officials have similarly acknowledged that the riots underway are the consequence, at least in part, of unchecked immigration.
Marine Le Pen, the deputy of the French National Assembly, told the Financial Times that France is "paying the price" for "decades of uncontrolled immigration."
Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar wrote, "In the face of this senseless destruction and unjustified violence, perhaps it is now clear to everyone why Hungary advocates the strictest possible approach to migration, and why we will not weaken our border protection or immigration policy under any pressure."
"I am glad that the current EU summit has made it clear that the overwhelming majority of European countries have woken up and want to break with the permissive policies of the past," added Magyar.
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