President Donald Trump on Monday (October 19) blamed immigration for protests in France.

French authorities set curfews in parts of several cities on Monday, including Paris, Lille and Nice, as they faced pressure over security failings after a weekend of riots and looting stemming from nationwide anti-government protests.

At the weekend, hundreds of thousands took to the streets to protest over what many say are declining and dysfunctional public services.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (OCTOBER 19, 2026) (U.S. NETWORK POOL - No use USA.)

1. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP WALKING TOWARDS MEDIA

2. (SOUNDBITE) (English) PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP, SAYING:

"Well, the France thing is a very sad situation. What's happening in France, because what's happening in France has to do with immigration. Not schools, not anything. It's immigration and I told President Macron, close up your borders. I told him the first time I met him, which was years ago in my first term. Close up your borders. You're going to have nothing but trouble. And they've got a lot of trouble."

3. TRUMP WITH MEDIA

4. (SOUNDBITE) (English) PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP, SAYING:

"They let people into that country that don't love their country, they don't love their buildings. They don't love their art. And I said the first time I met Macron, I said, you got to close up your borders. You're going to ruin your country. And they've ruined their country. It's going to be hard to get it back, but hopefully France will come back."

5. TRUMP WALKING TOWARDS HELICOPTER