FACT FOCUS: Trump makes unsubstantiated claim that France's immigrants are behind riots
Associated Press ·
U.S. President Donald Trump and leading Republicans are trying to leverage widespread riots in France ahead of midterm congressional elections by making unsubstantiated claims that the social unrest in Europe is caused by Muslim migrants. French President Emmanuel Macron replied Wednesday that this “is completely false.” France has been rocked by violence during nationwide demonstrations over the high cost of living and in support of students’ grievances over underfunded schools. Trump says immigrants to France are to blame. French authorities do not make that connection. It is difficult to know the exact sociological makeup of the protesters. But accounts of the protests and images of the unrest seem to show they are representative of France’s diverse society.