US President Donald Trump has renewed his criticism of Emmanuel Macron's immigration policies, claiming the unrest in France stems from mass migration. The American leader says he warned Macron "a long time ago" to close the French borders.
In his latest broadside against the French president, Trump asserts "Paris is going to be a Muslim city very soon". Discussing the French riots, Trump declared he "told him [Macron] a long time ago, you're making a big mistake in France."
Trump's Warning to Macron
Trump added: "You're letting everybody from the world come in. The whole world was coming in and Paris is going to be a Muslim city very soon, and that wasn't the deal."
Trump went on: "I told Emmanuel you should close up your borders. I've known him for maybe eight or nine years and I told him as soon as I met him, I said 'you're making a big mistake'.
"We closed our borders. He didn't. His borders are a problem and he also has a little bit of a problem with energy. Emmanuel should've closed his borders a long time ago. I told him to do it."
Riots Across France
Weeks of student demonstrations over school conditions in France have spiralled into widespread riots and anti-government protests featuring burning buildings, violence and arrests. The movement intensified following the government's announcement of significant spending cuts and a wage freeze for state employees.
Thousands have now been detained across the country, with thousands of injuries sustained by both protesters and law enforcement personnel.
Macron's Response
Trump made the remarks before departing for a campaign rally in Wichita, Kansas. This is not the first occasion on which he has attributed the outbreak of unrest in France to immigration.
The comments came just a day after Macron condemned the protests in a televised address. The French president denounced the "unbridled violence" following one of the most turbulent days of disorder in years, which left buildings ablaze, hundreds of shops ransacked and at least 2,400 people detained.
The French leader said: "Watching these images, we have all asked ourselves how could French people do this to France?". He went on to state that "nothing justifies" violence, as curfews were introduced across certain areas of the country.
