President Donald Trump tied France's unrest to immigration at a Kansas rally ahead of U.S. midterms, while an Ipsos poll found registered voters named cost of living more often than immigration as a congressional-vote concern.
At an Oct. 19 event supporting Republican Sen. Roger Marshall, Trump blamed migrants, jihadists and communists for France's disorder. He told the crowd it showed “what is at stake” in the midterm election. In a separate Truth Social post dated Oct. 19, Trump said migrants had taken over France and urged the country to close its borders. The rally followed his earlier appeal for France to tighten its borders.
French President Emmanuel Macron rejected the claim that migrants and Islamists had invaded France. In remarks published by the Élysée on Oct. 21, Macron called the claim false. He said he had seen no visible foreign interference in the events themselves, while saying information had been manipulated from abroad afterward.
Groups associated with the Oct. 17 mobilization cited education and economic demands. The FCPE parents’ federation called for support for high-school students’ demands and opposed austerity affecting public education. CGT Éduc’action listed higher wages and pensions, lower prices, public services and support for students among the concerns.
French police had not publicly connected immigrants with the rioting, and authorities had not assigned responsibility to a particular group, the Associated Press reported. The AP also reported, citing French authorities, that at least 3,000 shops were damaged or looted.
Ipsos surveyed 1,679 U.S. adults from Oct. 16-19. Among registered voters, 47% named cost of living as the most important factor in their congressional vote, compared with 12% who named immigration. Across all adults surveyed, 31% approved of Trump’s job performance and 66% disapproved. Reuters described the approval result as a record low.
The Federal Election Commission lists Nov. 3, 2026, as the date of the next regularly scheduled federal general election.
