France has been engulfed in civil unrest for the last week, which the New York Times reports is the “most destructive in decades.”
According to the Times, the riots in France are driven by students protesting school conditions, others protesting the high cost of living, and “opportunistic rioters” using the unrest to loot.
President Donald Trump delivers remarks at a meeting of the National Republican Congressional Committee, Wednesday, March 25, 2026, at Union Station in Washington, D.C. (Official White House photo by Joyce N. Boghosian)
Donald Trump Flickr/White House Photo
As of Tuesday, 1,500 shops had been vandalized, and nearly 2,400 arrests had been reported.
The unrest could affect everything from French politics, with a presidential election set for next spring, to plans for the NFL to play a game in Paris on Sunday.
Closer to home, President Donald Trump has tried to make political hay from the events in France, even warning that such chaos will reach American shores if Democrats win the midterm elections in two weeks.
From France to Kansas
In a campaign appearance in Kansas and on social media this week, the president attempted to blame the French unrest on his favorite targets — immigrants and “Communists” — and warned of something similar coming to America.
“The migrants have taken over France,” Trump said on Truth Social on Monday. “They must CLOSE THE BORDERS, FAST!” The protests in France, in fact, have not been driven primarily by migrants or immigrants.
Vice President JD Vance expressed similar sentiment on X, declaring that “Western liberals imported the third world into France and other countries in the name of diversity and compassion,” over footage of a burning town hall in France.
Trump went further at a rally in Kansas, saying the events in France preview what could happen in the United States, according to the Washington Examiner. He declared that France is being “conquered, looted, and burned to the ground by migrants, jihadists, and communists who hate Christianity.”
Trump was in Kansas, a red state he won by double digits in 2024, to assist Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS), an incumbent trying to fend off a close challenge from Adam Hamilton, a Democratic pastor. Marshall has been criticized for suing his patients during his past career as an OB-GYN, a practice that Trump defended in his rally speech.
It may be significant that Trump feels the need to campaign in a deep-red state, even though Kansas currently has a Democratic governor.
The president also told reporters earlier this week, according to the Examiner, that he spoke to the French President Emmanuel Macron and told him that he had made a mistake letting in so many migrants, and that “Paris is going to be a Muslim city very soon.”
What if the Democrats Win?
Trump’s implication, sometimes stated outright, is that a Democratic win in the midterm elections in two weeks would lead to similar conditions in the United States. Citing burning steeples and fires, Trump argued, per Newsweek, that this is “what the radical Democrats want to do to America.”
But it’s unclear why, even if Democrats recapture both houses of Congress, they couldn’t meaningfully change immigration policy as long as Trump is in the White House.
And no Democrat who is currently running for office is calling for rioting, social unrest, or the burning of churches.
Furthermore, the last time the United States had significant social unrest was in the summer of 2020, following the killing of George Floyd, when Trump was the president.
It’s also probably a stretch to think fear of France-style riots will appreciably move the needle in this year’s midterm elections, where the major issues are the high cost of living, dissatisfaction with the Iran War, and Trump’s still-plunging approval ratings.
It’s unclear how many voters are paying close attention to events in France, and whether that attention might motivate them to change their vote.
Trump’s approval rating on immigration—his strongest issue since he first entered politics—has dropped, along with his ratings on most other issues.
The president’s approach on that issue has declined, it appears, as it has become more associated with violent and brutal ICE raids, as opposed to the promises of securing the border that the president delivered on the campaign trail in 2024.
About the Author: Stephen Silver
Stephen Silver is an award-winning journalist, essayist, and film critic, and contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review, and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. For over a decade, Stephen has written thousands of articles on politics, national security, technology, and the economy. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @StephenSilver, and subscribe to his Substack newsletter.
