He linked protests in France to immigration policy and reiterates warnings to European leaders.

On Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump declined to express his electoral support for Marine Le Pen, the French far-right candidate for the 2027 presidential election.

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France Reports 855 Arrests in Paris After Protests

“Well, I don’t know her. I’ve never met her personally. But I thought they treated her badly,” he responded when asked in the Oval Office about a possible endorsement of the National Rally (RN) candidate.

The U.S. president criticized Le Pen’s conviction for embezzling European public funds, which resulted in an electoral ban that was later reduced following an appeal, allowing her to regain the possibility of running for president.

“I would consider that political weaponization. When they did what they did, I thought that, you know, she was leading. But after this, she’s definitely the conservative voice,” Trump said and credited his electoral endorsements with contributing to the rightward shift in several Latin American countries, including Abelardo de la Espriella’s victory in Colombia.

Marine Le Pen would win any runoff in France’s 2027 presidential race, poll finds pic.twitter.com/bMGRxRDRbo

— NewsWire (@NewsWire_US) October 20, 2026

The Republican leader again linked the protests in France to immigration policy and accused the French government of encouraging immigration. He said he had conveyed his warnings to French President Emmanuel Macron, with whom he said he had a good relationship.

“I said, if you don’t stop the immigration problem, you’re not going to have a country left. And I said it to Germany, and I said it to the United Kingdom,” Trump said.

On Oct. 17, thousands of French people took to the streets to protest inflation, the loss of purchasing power and support for U.S.-promoted wars. The protests led to violent clashes with police and property damage in several cities.

teleSUR/ JF

Source: EFE

Francia está asediada por las protestas y el vandalismo desatado tras las manifestaciones de las últimas semanas. Unas 800.000 personas salieron en unas 110 marchas a la calle el sábado. Después llegaron los saqueos y los incendios. Murió una persona, y los ayuntamientos de Limoges, Marsella y Lille sufrieron gravísimos daños. Hay más de 2.000 detenidos, y las grandes ciudades de Francia decretaron toques de queda por las noches. El Ejecutivo ha admitido haber perdido el control de la situación, el ministro del Interior presentó su dimisión, aunque fue rechazada por el presidente de la República, Emmanuel Macron. Pero antes de que se apagaran los primeros incendios, la clase política ya tenía un culpable: Jean-Luc Mélenchon.

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Marine Le Pen is only around 50% likely to win the French Presidency next spring, according to bookmakers' odds. But Mark Littlewood reckons it's much more likely than that and is well worth a flutter.

The post Le Pen Will Win appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

The far-right leader’s promise to restore order will appeal to many ahead of next year’s presidential elections – the stakes are suddenly much higher

There is only one clear winner so far from France’s chaos: Marine Le Pen. The violence and rioting that engulfed towns and cities across the country over the weekend, six months before a pivotal presidential election, is a godsend for the hard-right, Eurosceptical, anti-immigration candidate. As buildings burned, shops were looted and police attacked, the rioting largely drowned out peaceful mass protests over the dilapidated state of schools , fuel prices and the cost of living.

Across France and the rest of Europe, people are in shock at scenes of arson and pillage in city centres, the wrecking of symbols of the republic such as the 19th-century town hall in peaceful provincial Limoges and the bust of Marianne in Marseille’s city hall, and the looting of more than 2,000 shops.

Paul Taylor is a senior visiting fellow at the European Policy Centre

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© Photograph: Firas Abdullah/Anadolu/Getty Images

© Photograph: Firas Abdullah/Anadolu/Getty Images

© Photograph: Firas Abdullah/Anadolu/Getty Images

Francia afronta su particular otoño caliente, marcado por una fractura política y social, un elevado déficit y un coste de financiación que se encarece día a día. El país afronta la próxima primavera unas elecciones presidenciales, que según los sondeos ganará en primera vuelta la ultraderechista Marine Le Pen. Para entonces, el actual Ejecutivo de Sébastien Lecornu aspira a tener aprobados unos presupuestos de 2027 que incorporan recortes por 54.000 millones de euros y que acaban de llegar a una Asamblea Nacional más dividida que nunca. Una fractura que ya se ha instalado en las calles de decenas de ciudades, donde a las movilizaciones contra el encarecimiento del coste de la vida y la pérdida de poder adquisitivo se han sumado las protestas estudiantiles.

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© Stephanie Lecocq (REUTERS)