World Leader Torches ‘Stupid’ Trump Take on Violent Riots

LUDOVIC MARIN / POOL/AFP via Getty Images Emmanuel Macron has blasted Donald Trump over what he described as his “stupid” take on protests in France.

The French president made the remarks Wednesday after Trump used the demonstrations to attack migration and urge France to shut its borders, despite no evidence that immigration or religion had sparked the protests.

France has been rocked by demonstrations over the cost of living, strained public services, and deteriorating school conditions.

The unrest has escalated into clashes with police, arson and looting across several cities, leaving more than 150 officers injured and resulting in 1,800 arrests, according to authorities.

Overnight curfews were imposed in several cities on Monday, including parts of Paris.

Trump seized on the turmoil to deliver a warning about immigration during a rally in Kansas on Monday evening, describing France as a once-great nation that had been “conquered, looted, and burned to the ground by migrants, jihadists, and communists.” “If you want to see what is at stake in this election, just look at what’s happening in France,” he told supporters.

Earlier that day, Trump had taken to Truth Social to repeat his unsubstantiated assertion that migrants had taken control of France, demanding that its leaders “CLOSE THE BORDERS, FAST!” Speaking to reporters at the White House before departing for Kansas, Trump also claimed he had warned Macron that he was “making a big mistake.” “The whole world was coming in, and as you know, Paris is going to be a Muslim city very soon, and that wasn’t the deal,” he said, adding: “We closed our borders.

He didn’t.” The White House’s official X account also weighed in on the controversy, posting: “If you import the third world, you become the third world.” Macron responded Wednesday by accusing foreign politicians, including those “on the other side of the Atlantic,” of using France’s unrest to advance their own political agendas.

There “has been foreign manipulation of information in the aftermath” of the looting in Paris and other French cities last weekend, Macron said.

“And that has led to comments that are as unacceptable as they are stupid, from many people, including foreign leaders,” he added.

Although Macron did not initially identify Trump by name, he was asked directly whether the U.S. president was among those he was criticizing.

“Among others,” the French leader replied.

Macron also raised concerns about the circulation of fabricated material online, saying: “AI-generated images depicting scenes that never actually happened in France.