Trump, Waltz link France riots to mass immigration as thousands are arrested

FIRST ON FOX: President Donald Trump warned Tuesday that France’s escalating riots were being driven by "out of control mass migration," as U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz echoed those concerns and blamed unchecked immigration and broader European policy failures for helping fuel the unrest.

Asked by Fox News Digital about Trump’s comments and the scenes emerging from France, Waltz condemned the violence while also linking the unrest to European immigration and economic policies.

"I think we would always condemn lawlessness, condemn the violence that we're seeing in Paris," Waltz told Fox News Digital. "But I think we also have to recognize that when you have open borders, when you [have] this pro-migration, unchecked immigration kind of policy, coupled with policies over the years that deny people basic energy, that overspend on all kinds of other government programs, that you see a level of frustration boiling to the surface."

FRANCE EXPLODES AGAIN AS STUDENTS RIOT OVER EDUCATION

Protesters hold a Palestinian flag during demonstrations in Strasbourg, France, on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026. (Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters)

Trump weighed in as the unrest intensified, arguing that what was unfolding went beyond the students’ complaints about France’s education system. "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 wrote on Truth Social Tuesday.

"Unfortunately, I think you're seeing the results of some of that, and President Trump has brought that to light," Waltz added.

The comments came as France faced its biggest day of school unrest since the protests began in September. On Tuesday, police fired tear gas in Paris and other major cities, protesters lit fires and hurled projectiles, and France’s Interior Ministry said 6,100 people had been arrested, the overwhelming majority of them minors, according to Reuters. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu described the clashes as producing the school system’s "heaviest toll in decades".

FRANCE’S VIOLENT STUDENT PROTESTS RAISE WARNING FOR AMERICA: ‘A CAUTIONARY TALE’

A protester feeds a burnt barrier during a blockading action outside the secondary school Le Corbusier, in Aubervilliers, northern Paris on Oct. 1, 2026. (Lou Benoist/AFP via Getty Images)

France’s Interior Ministry said 6,100 people have been arrested so far, the overwhelming majority of them minors. Lecornu told lawmakers Tuesday that at least 215 teenagers and 85 school staff members have been injured, while his office said more than 700 police officers have also been hurt, according to Reuters.

The latest demonstrations brought clashes in Paris, Lyon, Strasbourg and Rennes, where police fired tear gas as protesters lit fires and hurled projectiles. More than half of France’s roughly 3,700 high schools were blockaded or expected to close Tuesday, according to the High School Students Union. The ⁠Paris police said the clashes there had come about when some 300 people attempted to face off against security forces, adding that the protest was generally unfolding well elsewhere.

Theo Wold, a former assistant attorney general and former White House deputy assistant for domestic policy under Trump, also argued that immigration was contributing to the unrest.

FRANCE ROCKED BY STUDENT RIOTS AS HUNDREDS ARRESTED, VIOLENCE SPREADS NATIONWIDE

Masked protesters install a barricade amid clashes with police during a protest near the Lycee Berthelot high school in Aubervilliers, near Paris, Oct. 2, 2026. (Sarah Meyssonnier/Reuters)

"The French are notorious for strikes, labor stoppages and street demonstrations. It’s a core part of the Fifth Republic’s civic culture," Wold told Fox News Digital. "What’s new is the violence, lawlessness and rioting. This is a consequence of mass immigration."

While Trump, Waltz and Wold linked the violence to immigration, Reuters and AP have reported that the protest movement began over school conditions, including teacher shortages, overcrowded classrooms, deteriorating buildings and education funding. Students have cited overcrowded classrooms, teacher shortages and deteriorating school buildings — including water leaks and rat infestations — among their grievances.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Rioters clash with police in Lyon, central eastern France, on Oct. 1, 2026. (Alex Martin AFP via Getty Images)

The unrest has increasingly become part of a broader political fight ahead of France’s presidential election in April and May 2027. Reuters reported last week that French authorities and political opponents have accused lawmakers and mayors from the hard-left France Unbowed party, or LFI, of stoking the demonstrations. LFI has denied the accusations.

Fox News Digital's Greg Norman-Diamond and Reuters contributed to this story.

Efrat (Effie) Lachter is a reporter for Fox News Digital with more than 15 years of experience covering conflict, global affairs, human rights and political accountability. She has directed and produced more than 200 documentary segments across more than 40 countries, documenting conflicts, humanitarian crises, corruption, human trafficking, gender-based violence and the human stories behind major world events. 

Lachter’s reporting has taken her into conflict zones and crisis areas across the Middle East, Europe, Asia and Africa. Her work has included uncovering human trafficking networks, revealing an ISIS underground torture prison in Syria, documenting the war in Ukraine and interviewing senior political figures and world leaders. She was also among the Western journalists who entered Russia after the war began to bring testimonies from Putin’s opposition. Lachter is the recipient of the 2022 Peres Center for Peace Award and was a 2023–2024 Knight-Wallace Journalism Fellow at the University of Michigan. She also won two Rockower Awards for Excellence in Reporting. She holds a bachelor's degree in communication and a master's degree in political science.