Trump shares a media post on Truth Social

ByRichard Miniter

First Published: October 18, 2026, 10:18 AM ET

WASHINGTON D.C. — Truth Social post containing 2 videos.

Donald J. Trump shared footage on Truth Social highlighting violent protests and looting that have gripped France. The nationwide demonstrations, which resulted in more than 1,800 arrests, included the burning of the historic city hall in Limoges.

Truth Social post containing 2 videos.

Charlie Payne Hey, good morning, guys. So at least 1,200 people were arrested across the country yesterday in what the French government has described as an escalation in violence. More than 550,000 people took to the streets Saturday to protest education standards and rising cost of living. Riot police clashed with demonstrators amid widespread looting, vandalism, and arson. Police resorted to tear gas and water cannons as protesters became more violent. Around 150 officers were injured during the clashes, and a 140-plus-year-old town hall that survived both World Wars was also set ablaze. French President Emmanuel Macron posted that there is quote, “no room for violence in our republic. Those who have broken, attacked the prefectures and as well as businesses, looted even our town halls will be prosecuted and punished.” Protests across the country have been ongoing for nearly five weeks across schools and universities. The French prime minister pointed to quote, “the ultra left groups and delinquents” as escalating the chaos, guys.

Charlie Payne Oh, you guys. It’s just heartbreaking to see that gorgeous town hall—145, almost 150 years old—survived two World Wars and then these people burned it to the ground.

Charlie Payne Yeah. And look at what it’s spread into. This—and it’s not just in one town or one area. It’s not just in Paris. It was in Limoges that we were watching that town hall being burned down, and it’s even spread to other parts of Europe and Italy as well. And you know, Vice President J.D. Vance had a tweet overnight that really puts into perspective exactly what we’re witnessing right now. He writes on X this: “Western liberals imported the third world into France and other countries in the name of diversity and compassion. They ignored fundamental questions of assimilation and incompatibility. They were told it would lead to this and they didn’t listen. I pray that France, a beautiful country of amazing people, will stop this madness before more of its landmarks burn and I hope Americans are paying attention. This is the future congressional Democrats seek for your country.” And of course, he is exactly right. He’s absolutely right about it. And the reason that he’s vice president and the reason Trump is president is because they are the first people. President Trump is the first person to step forward on the global stage and identify this problem and do something about it. And I think it’s really interesting—and if you read the so-called mainstream press about their coverage of this, they talk about the school funding, they talk about poor people not getting services. They say nothing about the fact that many of these protesters are immigrants from other countries that were brought into the country, never assimilated. They say nothing about the fact that we’re looking at a French flag right there, but in a lot of the shots you don’t see French flags. You see Palestinian flags. And I don’t know if the reporters doing these stories are just too old or they’re afraid to get down there and do something about the actual coverage where you actually talk to people, but they don’t tell that part of the story. And it takes the Vice President of the United States of America to actually identify what is going on here. And if France may not like people like J.D. Vance or Trump, but they’re going to wind up with a Marine Le Pen because she’s one of the few people in that country who’s actually willing to identify the problem and talk about it. And there was an organized effort to move those people over to Europe by our politicians and by billionaires like, well, they’re working for the billionaires—like Open Society, George Soros Foundation and other foundations—who use these NGOs to want to destabilize Europe. They hate Europe. They hate the idea of nationalism. And that’s the same thing that happened here, of course. And the other thing I want to bring up is something that J.D. Vance talked about, which is assimilation. You know, there’s a lot of consternation on the left. We’re fighting ICE. We’ve got to stop all these deportations. The reason we have to deport people is because they came here without a legal process that would assimilate them into our country, our customs, our mores, our history, our culture. And that’s the kind of thing my mother did. She decided she wanted to become an American citizen after she married an American GI. And she said, “I’m going to learn English, and then I’m going to go take a course and I’m going to learn the history of America, and then I’m going to pass a test about civics and history in America.” And through that process, she became proud to be an American. The people you are seeing here have no love for that country, for France. They don’t love France. They don’t care about its people. And all these shop owners who right now are living in fear—they wish they had a Trump there. They only wish there was somebody brave enough to withstand the insults about being a xenophobe or racist. They wish they had someone that strong. But unfortunately, they don’t. They have Macron.

Charlie Payne It’s hardly a scuffle. But listen, do I think there’s a bunch of Palestinians in France right now who are doing this? No. This is all astroturf. Remember, we had BLM as well here. These are anti-West forces. These are anti-West NGOs who are pushing this stuff. Just like BLM, they’re Marxists. We had Asra Nomani. She talks about this “green-red alliance”—these Muslim-socialist-Marxist alliances. These are people who are essentially anarchists.

Zenger analysis

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Protomaps / Natural Earth – Paris

Photo by  Protomaps / Natural Earth – Paris

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