Trump Says Islam Wants to Take Over France, Reacting to Mass Student Protests

US President Donald Trump said the student protests that have shaken France since mid September were the result of uncontrolled migration and a desire by Islam to take over the country. What's happening in France is nothing less than out of control mass migration, he wrote on his Truth Social platform, adding that this isn't about schools, this is about Islam wanting to take over a once great country.

The remarks came as the protest movement, which began at a high school outside Paris over complaints about a lack of resources and deteriorating teaching conditions, quickly spread across the country. The students mobilizing are denouncing chronic underinvestment in some schools, marked by staff shortages, overcrowded classrooms, and aging buildings, demands that concern neither religion nor immigration.

According to figures from the Interior Ministry, around 266,000 people took part in demonstrations held across the country on a single day of mobilization, including roughly 56,000 in Paris alone. Blockades and rallies have spread to several major cities, including Marseille and Strasbourg.

Notably, even Marine Le Pen's far right National Rally, usually quick to link the country's troubles to its immigration policy, has not endorsed the interpretation put forward by Trump. Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu, for his part, defended the actions of law enforcement while acknowledging the concerns raised by students, calling on the government and education authorities to work toward concrete solutions.

The US president's comments come against a broader backdrop, with several figures in the MAGA movement in the United States already seizing on the events in France to fuel the immigration debate ahead of the American midterm elections.

This account draws on reporting by Newsweek and CNN.