French President Emmanuel Macron said in Qatar on the 21st that remarks by foreign leaders blaming France's protests and looting on immigrants were unacceptable and stupid. Asked whether he meant Donald Trump, he answered, among others.
Speaking to reporters in Qatar on the 21st (local time) at the end of a tour of Gulf energy suppliers, Macron pushed back hard against foreign leaders' comments on the situation in France. According to AP and ABC reports carried by Chosun Ilbo, Kyunghyang Shinmun and the Liberty Times, he called claims that France had been overrun by migrants and Islamists completely false.
광고 문의 · 300×250Macron said information about the aftermath of the looting had been manipulated from abroad and described the resulting comments as not only unacceptable but stupid. Asked whether he had Trump in mind, he replied, among others. He did not name Trump directly, but the remark is widely read as including him.
Trump's post and Macron's rebuttal
The trigger was a Truth Social post by Trump on the 18th. He wrote that France is burning, claimed that immigrants from a completely different world with hatred in their hearts had shattered the country, and urged it to close its borders and take back control before it is too late. Vice President JD Vance had earlier shared video of the Limoges city hall fire and criticized Europe's lax immigration policy, SBS and others reported.
Macron pointed to AI-generated images spreading online that show scenes that never happened in France. ABC noted he did not say which images he meant or how he knew they were fake. He said leaders in election campaigns, at home or abroad, were using France for their own campaigns and repeating AI content, and that France did not need it.
The trip itself was aimed at the energy crunch. The Elysee said it was meant to secure oil, gas, diesel and jet fuel, and ABC reported that an extra 100,000 tonnes of diesel a month from the UAE was discussed. Bahrain's volume is unconfirmed, and the Elysee said that with Saudi supplies about 295,000 tonnes a month could be secured.
Unrest at home and diplomatic fallout
In France, protests that began with high school students demanding better school conditions spread to anger over prices and energy costs, and clashes, arson and looting broke out in Paris and elsewhere last weekend. The government imposed curfews in some areas, and earlier reports mentioned deploying troops. Official figures on the backgrounds of those involved could not be confirmed for this report.
The exchange exposes friction between the US and French leaders and ties into French domestic politics ahead of next year's presidential election. How Trump will respond to Macron's rebuttal had not been confirmed at the time of reporting. If the unrest drags on, the international argument over immigration could grow.