Violent Protests Erupt in France Over Cost of Living

President Donald Trump addressed the ongoing violent protests in France, where demonstrators are voicing their frustrations over the escalating cost of living.

The unrest began in mid-September in Paris, sparked initially by students protesting against issues like teacher shortages and overcrowded classrooms. However, as the protests intensified, public-sector workers, trade unions, and citizens impacted by rising living costs joined in, amplifying the demonstrations.

This past Saturday, a group of masked individuals set fire to a 19th-century neo-Renaissance City Hall in Limoges, causing significant damage, including the destruction of the historic clocktower.

Limoges Mayor Guillaume Guérin shared his frustration, stating that local police were quickly overwhelmed by a crowd of several hundred people who vandalized the building and forced their way inside using a battering ram.

“The logistics, the organisation, the premeditation behind yesterday’s attack on the town hall is something I find unbearable,” Guérin expressed to reporters.

He pointed out that there weren’t enough police officers available to safeguard the town hall, as many had been reassigned to manage the protests elsewhere.

“I had no single national police officer to protect the town hall,” Guérin added. “This country is doing badly, this country is doing very badly, and it’s a small provincial mayor telling you so.”

On Sunday, Trump took to Truth Social to caution France, urging them to close their borders “before it’s too late.”

“France is burning! The immigration of people from an entirely different world, people with hatred in their hearts, has shattered that once great country. Close your borders, take control, before it is too late!” he warned.

As reported by The New York Times, around 1,200 individuals were arrested as rioters targeted city halls from Lille in the north to Marseille in the south, along with hundreds of businesses across various cities including Paris, Lyon, and Nice.

The protests have intensified following Trump’s claim that the violence is a result of “nothing less than out of control mass migration.”