France rebukes Trump after he blamed Islam for student protests
US President Donald Trump has blamed Islam and mass immigration for the wave of student protests sweeping France, claiming the unrest is driven by Muslims seeking to “take over” the country.
Trump made the remarks on Truth Social as hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets across France in support of a student-led movement demanding better conditions in schools.
“What’s happening in France is nothing less than out of control mass migration,” Trump wrote. “This isn’t about schools, this is about Islam wanting to take over a once great Country!”
Trump offered no evidence for his claims, while the protesters’ demands have focused on deteriorating school infrastructure, teacher shortages, overcrowded classrooms and education funding.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot responded to Trump’s intervention by warning against allowing other countries to define the unrest in France.
“If we do not write our own story, others will write it for us,” Barrot said, according to French broadcaster BFMTV, warning against France being forced to “endure the stories of others”.
Barrot said France’s “rivals, adversaries, and partners” were attempting to interpret the movement “in their own way”.
In separate remarks to a parliamentary committee, Barrot said: “You’ll get the Iranians’ version, perhaps the version from some Israelis, perhaps the version from some Americans.”
He said French diplomatic missions were working to present France’s account of the protests “so that we have our own narratives to disseminate, rather than being subjected to those of others”.
No link has been established between the student movement and religious or identity-based demands, with even Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally not publicly attributing the unrest to immigration.
Demonstrations swept across France on Tuesday as teachers and parents joined high school students in what Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu has described as the country’s most violent student demonstrations in decades.
More than 250,000 people took part in protests across France, according to the Interior Ministry, while organisers put the figure at 450,000. (The New Arab)
Police fired tear gas and water cannons during clashes on the fringes of demonstrations in Paris, Strasbourg, Rennes and Toulouse.
The Interior Ministry said 488 people were arrested on Tuesday, while 43 law enforcement officers were injured.
Lecornu has said at least 215 teenagers and 85 school staff have been injured since the unrest began, describing it as “the heaviest toll in decades paid by the school system”. His office said more than 700 police officers had also been hurt.
The protests began in September in disadvantaged suburbs of Paris before spreading across the country.
Students have complained of chronic underfunding and poor conditions in schools, including overcrowded classrooms, teacher shortages and basic maintenance problems ranging from water leaks to rat infestations.
The High School Students Union said more than half of France’s high schools had been blockaded or closed, while some education authorities have attempted to move classes online.
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