Rabat – US President Donald Trump has blamed France’s nationwide student protests on mass migration and Islam, dismissing the education-related grievances that have brought hundreds of thousands of people onto the streets.
“What’s happening in France is nothing less than out of control mass migration. This isn’t about schools, this is about Islam wanting to take over a once great Country!” Trump said Tuesday in a post on Truth Social.
The comments came as more than 250,000 people demonstrated across France, according to official figures, amid a protest movement that began with high school students and has since spread across the country.
Students have blocked entrances to hundreds of high schools since late September, with protesters calling for better school conditions and greater resources. Some demonstrations have also led to clashes with police, although the movement’s central demands concern France’s education system.
Trump’s remarks reflect a broader pattern in his administration’s approach to social tensions in Europe, where migration has remained a central theme in its criticism of European governments.
MAGA movement seizes on French unrest
Trump’s allies and prominent voices within the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement have also used images of the French protests to advance their arguments about immigration and the future of Western societies.
Conservative commentator Glenn Beck described the unrest as a “clear warning to the rest of the West,” while right-wing commentator Dave Rubin shared footage of the protests and warned that similar scenes could emerge in the US if Democrats regain power.
The comments come less than a month before the US midterm elections, with Trump and his allies placing renewed emphasis on immigration and other cultural issues.
The US president has long portrayed Europe as an example of what he sees as the consequences of liberal migration policies. His administration has also accused European countries of failing to protect their borders and preserve what it describes as Western cultural identity.
A US national security strategy released in December went further, warning of “civilizational erasure” in Europe and pledging to support resistance to what the administration described as unfavorable political trends.
Vice President JD Vance has likewise made European migration policy a frequent target of criticism.
Paris rejects foreign narratives
Trump’s comments have drawn a response from Paris, which has sought to counter foreign interpretations of the unrest.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said Tuesday that France must present its own account of the protests rather than allow other governments to define the events.
“You’ll get the Iranians’ version, perhaps the version from some Israelis, perhaps the version from some Americans,” Barrot told a parliamentary committee.
He said French diplomatic missions were working to ensure that France could “disseminate” its own account of the situation abroad.
Barrot’s comments came after Iran also criticized France’s handling of the protests and summoned the French envoy over what Tehran described as the government’s response to the demonstrations.
For French authorities and protesters, however, the immediate dispute remains focused on schools.
The protests have raised concerns about education resources, school conditions and the broader pressures faced by students. The unrest has nevertheless become part of a wider political debate, with figures on both sides of the Atlantic using the scenes in France to reinforce competing narratives about migration, social cohesion and the future of Western societies.
