Trump, Vance Blame 1,800 French Arrests on Immigration as Macron Faces April Election
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Oct 19
Trump, Vance Blame 1,800 French Arrests on Immigration as Macron Faces April Election
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Oct 19
Summary
1,800 arrests and new overnight curfews in parts of Paris and other French cities prompted Donald Trump and JD Vance to argue that immigration, not economic anger, drove the violence.
Trump urged France to "close your borders" and said he had warned Emmanuel Macron he was making "a big mistake," while Vance cast the unrest as proof of liberal failure ahead of the 3 November US midterms.
The protests began weeks ago over teacher shortages, crumbling schools and university admissions, then widened to fuel prices and falling purchasing power after higher energy costs linked to the shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz.
Marine Le Pen's allies echoed the immigration line, and the unrest is adding pressure on Macron six months before France's April presidential election as similar cost-of-living protests spread across Europe.