On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that the student protests in France were a manifestation of Islam wanting to take over the country, describing the unrest as a 'mass migration'.
The demonstrations erupted at a high‑school in the Paris region in September and since then have swelled to 266,000 participants nationwide, with 56,000 in Paris alone.
Police cracked down in Paris with tear gas and batons, detaining nearly 500 people; across France the authorities have made more than 6,500 arrests, most of them minors, and 715 officers were hurt.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez defended the force as 'proportionate', while Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu called for listening to students and dismissed allegations of racism as a 'lie'.
Students and parents have decried the use of riot‑control weapons against teenagers, with Felix Barney calling it nonsensical and a 15‑year‑old boy losing a hand after a stun grenade.
The comments are expected to pressure French officials to reassess their security strategy ahead of the upcoming presidential election.