Trump Blames France's Student Unrest on 'Mass Migration'

Former U.S. President Donald Trump has attributed the violent student protests gripping France to "mass migration," asserting that the unrest is not about educational conditions but rather an attempt by Islam to take over the country. The demonstrations, which have escalated into clashes with riot police and led to thousands of arrests, are officially a response to demands for improved classroom conditions and resources in French schools.

Violent confrontations have become a hallmark of the protests, with shocking videos circulating that show participants using flamethrowers and engaging directly with law enforcement. A 15-year-old student reportedly lost a hand on Monday after handling a police grenade during the demonstrations, according to AFP.

The underlying issues within France's educational system have been building for years. A significant fertility spike around 2010 has resulted in a larger high school-aged population, coinciding with budget-saving policies under President Emmanuel Macron that led to staff cuts. Secondary schools now have fewer teachers than in 2008, despite an increase of 250,000 students.

Teacher recruitment has also faced a crisis, leading to larger class sizes. Currently, 70% of public school classrooms have more than 30 students, and 20% exceed 35. Compounding these issues are the dilapidated state of school facilities, with French high schools averaging 61 years in age and only 15% renovated or built since 2015. These conditions were starkly highlighted during a recent record heatwave.

The protests initially began on September 21 at Saint-Exupéry high school outside Paris, with students and teachers demanding increased staffing. While that initial demonstration concluded without incident and saw local district concessions, it served as a catalyst for similar actions at hundreds of other schools.

"After 10 years of Emmanuel Macron’s education policies, it was to be expected that high school students would be angry," Elisabeth Allain-Moreno, general secretary of the teachers’ union SE-UNSA, told French outlet Le Monde. "One could even wonder how they did not express it sooner."

Trump's comments on X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday stated, "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!" The French Muslim population constitutes 66% of the country's total immigrant population, having grown from approximately 0.5% in 1985 to over 6 million people.

As of the latest reports, at least 6,100 people have been arrested since the protests began, with a majority being minors. The clashes have also resulted in approximately 715 police officers and 215 teenagers injured, according to the office of Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu. These demonstrations mark the most significant civil unrest in France since the historic student revolts of May 1968, which paralyzed the nation.