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France expands curfews to curb violent riots
National Review senior writer Noah Rothman discusses the unrest gripping France, attacks on Jewish sites and businesses and concerns over similar violence in the U.S.
French President Emmanuel Macron pressed ahead with a trip to the Arabian Gulf as violent riots rocked France, fueling fresh criticism of his leadership as his government struggled to contain the unrest.
What began weeks earlier as purportedly student-led demonstrations over classroom conditions escalated into widespread riots involving a range of political and ideological factions across France over the weekend.
Images and videos posted to social media on Saturday and Sunday showed groups of men waving foreign flags while engaging in acts of destruction on the streets of France’s major cities.
Amid this backdrop, Macron was planning a trip to the Arabian Gulf for energy negotiations.The chaos in his country did not dissuade him from traveling.He left for Kuwait on Sunday, shortly after denouncing the “unbridled” violence of the rioters in a nationwide address.
WHERE’S MACRON?FRENCH LEADER BLASTED FOR ATTENDING CONCERT AS RIOTS ESCALATED
A demonstrator holds a Palestinian flag beside a burning bus stop at Place de la République in Paris.The entry of the Gilets Jaunes connects student issues to wider economic discontent.Paris, France Oct.17, 2026(Guy Smallman/Getty Images)
The French president, defending his travel to the Arabian Gulf, noted that heightened fuel prices were, in his telling, one of the causes behind the ongoing riots.
French officials say that they havearrested over 2,500 peoplein connection with the demonstrations.Though Macron acknowledges failures in security, he declined the resignation of his interior minister.
Macron received criticism from the left and the right forhis handling of the riots.Marine Le Pen, a right-wing contender for the presidency, charged that France under Macron was a country “caught in a vice between violence and impotence.” From the left, socialist presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon accused Macron’s government of relying on “inaction and police brutality” to quell the riots.
FRANCE’S MASSIVE INTEL FAILURE SPARKS RESIGNATION OFFERS AMID DAYS OF RIOTING
France’s President Emmanuel Macron, center, hosts an Interministerial Crisis Meeting at the Elysee Presidential Palace, in Paris, on Sunday, Oct.18, 2026, the day after nationwide riots.(Ludovic Marin/Pool Photo via AP)
The demonstrations occurred as France’s presidential election looms.Macron is term-limited, and his centrist allies face an increasingly difficult political environment as figures including Le Pen on the right and Mélenchon on the left seek to capitalize on growing discontent.
Political observers have suggested that the riots could help Le Pen, a staunch critic of immigration, at the polls.
Macron was also criticized for attending a concert as the riots were ongoing.
VIOLENT FAR-LEFT RIOTS IN FRANCE ARE ‘CHILLING WARNING’ FOR AMERICANS AT HOME, MIKE JOHNSON SAYS
A protester watches a fire burn at a demonstration in Paris, France, on Saturday, Oct.17, 2026.Rioters attacked French public buildings and looted stores in cities including Paris as protests against the high cost of living drew more than half a million people, underscoring the nation’s challenges ahead of presidential elections next year. (Nathan Laine/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Violence in the streets of Francehas reportedly cooled after officials implemented overnight curfews in Paris and other major cities.That was not before rioters inflicted over $1 billion in estimated damages, including by destroying small businesses and setting fire to historic buildings, according to an analysis from the financial services firm Morningstar.
The unrest in Francestruck a particular chord with American conservatives, who saw it as emblematic of a broader decline in European social cohesion and as a cautionary tale for Americans.
Simon Hankinson, former U.S.consul in Marseille, called the riots a “warning sign for the United States.” Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro blamed the demonstrations on “an out-of-control welfare state, left-wing radicalism and third world immigration.
“Western liberals imported the third world into France and other countries in the name of diversity and compassion,” Vice President JD Vance wrote on X.“They ignored fundamental questions of assimilation and compatibility.They were told it would lead to this and they didn’t listen.”
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Some American liberals, including California Democratic Rep.Ro Khanna, have pointed to economic grievances as a driving force behind the unrest, although Khanna condemned the violence and vandalism that accompanied the demonstrations.
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