US President Donald Trump [Getty Images]
US President Donald Trump [Getty Images]

US President Donald Trump said Sunday (local time) that France's anti-government protests, which had escalated into looting and arson, were caused by the country's acceptance of immigrants, and called on France to "close the borders and take back control before it's too late."

Trump made the remarks on his Truth Social account, writing "France is burning."

"Immigrants from a totally different world, with hate in their hearts, have been tearing apart what was once a great country," Trump said.

Vice President JD Vance also weighed in, sharing a video on X showing the city hall of Limoges, a small city in southwestern France, engulfed in flames after being attacked by protesters. "Western progressives, in the name of diversity and compassion, imported the Third World into France and other nations," Vance wrote. "They ignored the fundamental questions of assimilation and social compatibility, and they were warned this would happen — but they didn't listen."

Vance added that he was "praying that the beautiful country of France and its wonderful people can stop this madness before more landmarks burn."

He also said he hoped "Americans are watching this very carefully," adding that it represented "the future that Democratic Party lawmakers are pursuing for America."

Trump blames 'out-of-control immigration' for France unrest

Meanwhile, Trump had also blamed immigrants for large-scale student protests in France on Oct. 6.

In a Truth Social post at the time, Trump wrote that what was happening in France was "nothing other than massive, out-of-control immigration."

"This is not about schools," he said. "This is about Islam trying to take over what was once a great country."

Trump had also weighed in on a migrant incursion in Ceuta, a Spanish enclave bordering North Africa, last July, calling it "hundreds of thousands of people invading a country" and blaming lax border and immigration policies.

AFP noted at the time that Trump's remarks linking the French unrest to immigration appeared to be an attempt to rally the global right ahead of US midterm elections.


yul@heraldcorp.com