U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday blamed immigration for unrest during protests in France and urged the country to tighten its migration rules.
“France is burning! The immigration of people from an entirely different world, people with hatred in their hearts, has shattered that once great country,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform. “Close your Borders and take control, before it is too late!”
Meanwhile, French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu, who had condemned the “extreme intensity” of the violence, said 1,200 people had been arrested and 150 police officers hurt. It was “a miracle the toll isn’t higher”, he said.
The demonstrations, which included violence, vandalism, and looting in Paris and other cities, occurred six months before the presidential election.
The violence began on the sidelines of marches in the capital and other cities over the cost of living that the interior ministry said were attended by 550,000 people. The CGT union, which took part, said 800,000 people participated.
Police used tear gas and water cannon against protesters who threw projectiles and aimed fireworks.
During and after those demonstrations, gangs of youths roamed city streets, sporadically confronting police, while setting fires and attacking shuttered stores to break in and empty their shelves.
Scores of shops — supermarkets, pharmacies, luxury boutiques, clothing retailers, opticians, cosmetic vendors and consumer electronics stores — were looted in Paris, Marseille, Nice, Nantes, Bordeaux, Limoges, Lille, Toulouse and Strasbourg. (AFP)
