At a campaign rally in Kansas on Monday, two weeks before midterm U.S. elections, Mr. Trump said, “If you want to see what is at stake in this election, just look at what’s happening in France, a once great nation that is being conquered, looted and burned to the ground by migrants, jihadists and communists who hate Christianity.”
France’s government has accused “ultraleft militants” and opportunistic looters of causing the violence. The far-right, anti-immigration party, the National Rally, has also accused the far left, which it said formed an alliance with “predators from the suburbs.” In France, “the suburbs” usually refers to working-class areas with large numbers of immigrants, primarily from Africa, and their descendants.
Several foreign leaders and politicians, including President Trump and Vice President JD Vance — both of whom have expressed support for the National Rally — amplified its critiques, saying the unrest was caused by immigrants.
The identities of the black-clad and masked rioters captured on footage is unknown. Of the more than 2,500 people arrested, 95 percent were men and 70 percent were adults, according to Gérald Darmanin, France’s justice minister. They included “people from immigrant backgrounds, people who are foreigners, but there are also people who are fully integrated and who are French,” Mr. Darmanin added, without providing further details.
Mr. Macron made his comments on Mr. Trump in Qatar, on a three-day diplomatic trip to the Middle East aimed at securing a steady supply of fuel to lower prices at home. He has been trying to address one of the demonstrators’ main complaints, high living expenses, as the government seeks to reassert its authority after the rioting.