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French President Emmanuel Macron pressed ahead with a trip to the Arabian Gulf as violent riots rocked France, fueling fresh criticism of his leadership as his government struggled to contain the unrest.
What began weeks earlier as purportedly student-led demonstrations over classroom conditions escalated into widespread riots involving a range of political and ideological factions across France over the weekend.
Images and videos posted to social media on Saturday and Sunday showed groups of men waving foreign flags while engaging in acts of destruction on the streets of France’s major cities. A Fox News Digital investigation found that communist organizations, Islamic advocacy groups, labor unions and environmental activists were involved in the unrest.
Amid this backdrop, Macron was planning a trip to the Arabian Gulf for energy negotiations. The chaos in his country did not dissuade him from traveling. He left for Kuwait on Sunday, shortly after denouncing the “unbridled” violence of the rioters in a nationwide address.
WHERE’S MACRON? FRENCH LEADER BLASTED FOR ATTENDING CONCERT AS RIOTS ESCALATED
The French president, defending his travel to the Arabian Gulf, noted that heightened fuel prices were, in his telling, one of the causes behind the ongoing riots.
French officials say that they have arrested over 2,500 people in connection with the demonstrations. Though Macron acknowledges failures in security, he declined the resignation of his interior minister.
Macron received criticism from the left and the right for his handling of the riots. Marine Le Pen, a right-wing contender for the presidency, charged that France under Macron was a country “caught in a vice between violence and impotence.” From the left, socialist presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon accused Macron’s government of relying on “inaction and police brutality” to quell the riots.
FRANCE’S MASSIVE INTEL FAILURE SPARKS RESIGNATION OFFERS AMID DAYS OF RIOTING
The demonstrations occurred as France’s presidential election looms. Macron is term-limited, and his centrist allies face an increasingly difficult political environment as figures including Le Pen on the right and Mélenchon on the left seek to capitalize on growing discontent.
Political observers have suggested that the riots could help Le Pen, a staunch critic of immigration, at the polls.
Macron was also criticized for attending a concert as the riots were ongoing.
VIOLENT FAR-LEFT RIOTS IN FRANCE ARE ‘CHILLING WARNING’ FOR AMERICANS AT HOME, MIKE JOHNSON SAYS
Violence in the streets of France has reportedly cooled after officials implemented overnight curfews in Paris and other major cities. That was not before rioters inflicted over $1 billion in estimated damages, including by destroying small businesses and setting fire to historic buildings, according to an analysis from the financial services firm Morningstar.
The unrest in France struck a particular chord with American conservatives, who saw it as emblematic of a broader decline in European social cohesion and as a cautionary tale for Americans.
Simon Hankinson, former U.S. consul in Marseille, called the riots a “warning sign for the United States.” Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro blamed the demonstrations on “an out-of-control welfare state, left-wing radicalism and third world immigration.
“Western liberals imported the third world into France and other countries in the name of diversity and compassion,” Vice President JD Vance wrote on X. “They ignored fundamental questions of assimilation and compatibility. They were told it would lead to this and they didn’t listen.”
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Some American liberals, including California Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna, have pointed to economic grievances as a driving force behind the unrest, although Khanna condemned the violence and vandalism that accompanied the demonstrations.
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