Why Is Macron Calling Trump’s France Riot Claims Stupid?

French President Emmanuel Macron said in Doha on Wednesday that foreign leaders were commenting on the French riots in a way that was “unacceptable and stupid”, and when asked whether he meant Donald Trump he replied, “Among others, yes.” The reply came three days after Trump told reporters in Washington to tell France to close its borders, and one day after Benjamin Netanyahu described the unrest as an “invasion of extremist Islam”. Lecornu and Macron himself have blamed far-left groups and criminals.

Macron spoke in Doha on 21 October, on a Gulf tour, and named no one except by agreeing when asked about Trump. Trump and Netanyahu each described the riots as a migration and Islam story. French ministers have blamed far-left groups and criminals. France’s foreign minister said his ministry will brief foreign governments so they stop spreading misinformation. Macron meets intelligence officials and senior ministers on Thursday, two days before new protests planned for Saturday.

On Sunday 18 October, the day after the worst of the violence, Trump wrote on Truth Social that “France is burning!”, according to Business Today.

On Monday Trump told reporters in Washington: “What’s happening in France has to do with immigration, not schools, not anything,” AFP reported through The Times of Israel. “It’s immigration, and I told President Emmanuel Macron, close up your borders.” He added: “Paris is going to be a Muslim city very soon.”

Netanyahu told the French-language channel i24News on Tuesday that France was facing an “invasion of extremist Islam”, The Tribune reported. He also said French leaders “did not prepare in time” and should “fight against the extremists” rather than pursue appeasement. AFP noted that the wording came from an interpreter’s French translation, as Business Standard relayed.

In Doha on Wednesday Macron called the remarks “equally unacceptable and stupid comments from many people, including foreign leaders”, and said “there are people who campaign at France’s expense”, per The Tribune. Israel National News quoted him saying: “They are using our country for their political campaigns. And we don’t need that.”

“We’ve had people claiming that we were invaded by hordes of migrants and Islamists, which is completely false,” Macron said, as Business Standard reported. He added that some images in circulation were AI fabrications of events that never happened.

Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu blamed “ultra-left radical groups”, Fox News reported. Macron himself condemned “insurrectionist elements from radical far-left groups, joined by numerous criminals”.

Macron said on Wednesday that, as far as he was concerned, there was “no visible foreign interference” in the events, according to The Tribune. A week earlier, Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot had warned of foreign election interference and named Elon Musk and an Israeli company, Ynet reported. On Wednesday his ministry said it was ready to brief foreign governments so they avoid spreading misinformation.

Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the far-left leader, went further on Tuesday evening, according to Ynet. Ynet paraphrased his claim that Netanyahu was influencing elections in Marseille, Toulouse, Roubaix and Paris. Ynet reported no Israeli government reply, and The Tribune reported none from Washington or Jerusalem to Macron.

Trump’s endorsement of Netanyahu before the Israeli vote is covered in our earlier piece.

Macron’s meeting on Thursday with intelligence officials and senior ministers, where he is due to receive a detailed account of 17 October. Saturday 24 October: the student union UNEF has called rallies and the Yellow Vest movement has filed a march through central Paris. Macron said that those who want to cause disorder in city centres will be prevented from doing so. Whether Washington or Jerusalem answers Macron, or repeats the claim. The 5 November general strike, and whether the bond yield holds at 5%.