France was rocked by violent riots over the weekend and into this week.
They calmed somewhat with curfews and a heavy police presence, but more protests are expected, so more violence may be coming.
Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron is throwing a hissy fit about what President Donald Trump said about the riots involving migrants. Macron claimed that there was no "visible foreign interference" in the riots, but there was "foreign manipulation of information" afterward.
French President Emmanuel Macron criticises world leaders for making "stupid" comments about ongoing rioting in France—in an apparent swipe at US President Donald Trump and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu. https://t.co/2Cljk2dRNB
— euronews (@euronews) October 21, 2026
Macron ranted that led to "unacceptable and downright stupid comments from many people, including foreign leaders."
"That is to say we've seen AI-generated images showing scenes that have never taken place in France. We have people claiming we were overrun by hordes of migrants and Islamists, which is completely untrue." He said people "naively repeat" what is generated by AI.
So here's the thing. I'm sure there's a fake pic here or there.
But we saw all these videos and reports as they were happening. They were not "AI-generated." We saw the Communist flags and the Palestinian flags. We saw the Limoges town hall and the Lyon tourist office burning. We saw the foundation of the Monument de la République being ripped up to use as ammo against the police. We saw the videos of the police being assaulted. We saw the Palestinian flag on the Joan of Arc statue. We saw numerous videos where we can make an assessment as to who was involved, and yes, there appeared to be many migrants. Obviously, it would be difficult to make a full assessment as to all of the people and the percentage. Partly because people were masked. But also, it's difficult to assess since the police don't record some of that information when they arrest people, although they do record the names. But Macron can't deny migrant participation. We noted a variety of the radical groups reportedly involved in the protests.
They are waving the Palestinian flag while the French one burns. https://t.co/XDkZ6uid2Y
— Daniel Schwartz (@danschwartz88) October 18, 2026
But imagine if Macron is going to make a statement about what's going on, and that's what he's upset about. He seems more focused on attacking other leaders than on coming down on the rioters and doing what he was supposed to do to protect his own country. Part of the problem was that he showed weakness earlier last week, saying young people had legitimate concerns. As we reported, on Friday, instead of being in meetings that night on what everyone knew was going to be a bad Saturday, he was at a Celine Dion concert with his wife.
Even this comment, where he denies any Islamist connection (despite the undeniable flags), where is he when he's saying that? He left France while the rioting was still going on and went to Qatar, where he made that statement. He's on a four-country trip to the Middle East. The irony.
If he isn't even able to articulate the issues (or is simply denying them for the camera), then he can't properly address them. And that's why he's been such a failure.
If anyone looks stupid right now it is @EmmanuelMacron
— Nile Gardiner (@NileGardiner) October 21, 2026
Le pouncing
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) October 21, 2026
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