Violent riots sweeping France have exposed a far-left network of communist groups, labor unions and political activists mobilizing around student grievances, raising questions about whether similar political and immigration tensions could ignite unrest on American streets.
A Fox News Digital investigation identified 50 organizations involved in France's student protest movement and its broader network of supporters and international amplifiers, including communist and socialist groups, labor unions and political parties.
The American parallels extend beyond political rhetoric. Fox News Digital previously reported that agitators at Delaney Hall in Newark used encrypted Signal chats to coordinate transportation, supplies and demonstrations before clashes with federal agents.
Santiago Vidal Calvo, a researcher at the Manhattan Institute, singled out New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, arguing that their approaches to immigration enforcement could move the United States closer to conditions he associates with France's crisis.
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"I have absolutely no doubts that if we had Mamdanis or El-Sayeds or AOCs in charge of immigration policy, our immigration landscape would be very different today than what it currently is," Calvo told Fox News Digital.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has made a similar argument, explicitly tying France's violence to the stakes of the 2026 midterms.
"France is descending into chaos because they wanted OPEN BORDERS — just like the socialist Democrats in America," Johnson wrote on X. "What we are witnessing is a chilling warning for all Americans of what happens if the radical Marxist insurgent left gets their way."
Johnson argued that a Democratic victory in November would lead to more permissive immigration policies, casting the election as a choice between the Trump administration's immigration crackdown and the approach favored by Democrats. President Donald Trump similarly posted on Truth Social that "migrants have taken over France," urging the country to "CLOSE THE BORDERS, FAST!"
The immigration debate is also playing out directly in the 2026 midterms. In Michigan's closely watched Senate race, Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed has made abolishing ICE a campaign position, arguing that the agency cannot be reformed. His Republican opponent, Mike Rogers, has sought to portray El-Sayed as an ideological extremist as the two compete for a seat that could help determine control of the Senate.
In New York City, Mamdani signed a February executive order reinforcing sanctuary protections and restricting federal immigration enforcement on city property without a judicial warrant. Both Mamdani and El-Sayed frame their policies as safeguards against abusive enforcement, while critics warn they could weaken immigration controls.
The unrest began with students protesting conditions in France's education system before labor unions, political activists and groups with separate grievances joined the movement. Fox News Digital's investigation found that 15 of the 50 organizations identified in the broader network were student or youth groups.
Andrew Arthur, a former immigration judge and fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, described a convergence of frustrations over school funding, rising costs, France's stagnant economy and longstanding tensions surrounding immigration and assimilation.
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"You've got the simple educational one which is partially economic, you've got the larger economic one and on top of that you have the assimilation issue," Arthur said.
But Arthur expressed skepticism that the United States would experience nationwide riots on the same scale, pointing to differences in immigration patterns and assimilation.
"Now can we see mass protests like this in the United States? I don't think so," Arthur said, noting that protests over urban ICE operations have not escalated into a comparable nationwide movement.
Nathalie Szerman, a Europe-based researcher with the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), pointed to another potential factor: The demonstrations intensified around the 65th anniversary of the Oct. 17, 1961, massacre of Algerian demonstrators by Paris police.
"October 17 is a very symbolic date for the Algerian-ethnic groups," Szerman told Fox News Digital, describing demonstrators memorializing a deadly 1961 crackdown by Paris police on Algerian demonstrators.
"The first protest groups were not ideologically aligned with 'political Islam' but were students from immigrant suburbs, driven by education concerns. Agenda-driven, organized 'Political Muslim' groups used the momentum of the protests for their own ends," Szerman said.
"It's a lot of things together, the resentment towards France and the political agenda," she said.
Alan Mendoza, executive director of the U.K.'s Henry Jackson Society — named for the late Washington Sen. Scoop Jackson — argued that the far-left movement led by Jean-Luc Mélenchon helped encourage broader mobilization ahead of France's next presidential election.
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu blamed Mélenchon and his party for the unrest, according to Le Monde, while Mélenchon fired back after Lecornu demanded that LFI "choose a side" between France and the rioters — calling the either-or "detestable."
Mendoza warned that similar political tensions could surface in America, citing backlash against socialist New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani from anti-Israel activists who had previously supported him.
"What was interesting was the sight of him being turned on by the pro-Palestinian protesters the other day, when he was acknowledging October the 7th, the loss of human life on his radio site, he was turned on by the very hard left people who had helped propel him to power," Mendoza said.
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"What that shows you is that it is very real a possibility at the hard left who are never satisfied and actually want chaos more than anything else," Mendoza added.
Arthur said France's far left can openly champion expansive immigration policies, while American Democrats face a different political reality: They cannot publicly embrace open borders without risking backlash, he argued, pointing to the Biden administration's tendency to portray illegal immigration as a problem it could not control rather than a policy it actively supported.
"Riot is to France what football is to the United States," said Arthur.
Szerman, however, said comparable unrest was possible despite differences between the two countries.
"I definitely think that what's happening in France could happen in the United States," she said, while noting that the more accommodating U.S. education system and different approach to immigrant integration could reduce the severity of any such violence, making a French-style nationwide crisis less likely.
Calvo, meanwhile, warned that adopting more expansive immigration policies without adequate screening and integration safeguards could create pressures similar to those he believes contributed to France's unrest.
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"France is in this mess because of the horrible policies they had in immigration over the last years," he said, warning that importing similar approaches could bring unrest to American communities.
Fox News Digital reached out to Mamdani, El-Sayed and Ocasio-Cortez for comment.
Fox News Digital's Ashely DiMella contributed to this report.
The New York Giants may still be searching for their feature back, but they appear to know who won't fill the role.
Two days after criticizing the coaching staff's game plan following a four-carry, two-yard performance, the G-Men released Najee Harris.
Harris, a training camp pickup following struggles by Tyrone Tracy, got the start on Sunday, as Cam Skattebo was all but benched after another fumble, perhaps this one the most costly, last week. Skattebo was on the field for just six snaps and did not touch the ball.
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The Giants used a three-running-back rotation of Harris, Tracy and Devin Singletary, yet their top two leading rushers were quarterback JJ McCarthy (26 yards) and wide receiver Darnell Mooney (20). As John Harbaugh put it after Sunday's loss, "Nobody's really taken the bull by the horns."
Well, Harris said it was difficult for him and the other backs to get into a rhythm.
"I don't think nobody can," Harris said, via the New York Daily News. "And this is not to anything that's the coaching staff or anything. This is just personal, running backs, quarterbacks. It's hard to get in a rhythm with one or two plays.
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"The first couple runs will be, 'OK, how are they playing me?' The next one is gonna be, 'OK, this is how you attack it.' But if you're getting a play here and get taken out four series, there's nothing you can do. I don't know. I've never been through this before."
Harris has 99 rushing yards on 31 carries (3.2 yards per carry), a far cry from his four straight 1,000-yard seasons to open up his NFL career, which began just five years ago.
Harris was a first-round pick out of Alabama and was the Pittsburgh Steelers' bell cow but left after four seasons. He joined the Los Angeles Chargers, but injuries kept him out for almost the entire season.
Giants running backs are averaging just 3.4 yards per carry this season, with Skattebo barely leading the way at 3.6. Out of his 294 rushing yards, 81 of them came against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 1. He followed up with 36, 60, 58, and 59.
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Harbaugh is patiently waiting to see who will take the bull by the horns, but one thing is for certain — it won't be Harris. New York will go to Houston to take on the suddenly-hot Texans before their Week 8 bye.
© Emon Hassan for The New York Times
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A new food delivery service is taking aim at menu mark-ups — and some entrenched rivals
Restaurant ordering software company Olo is launching its own customer-focused app, it said on Tuesday. The app puts it in competition with more established delivery companies, such as DoorDash and Uber Eats.
On Olo's app, customers will see the same prices that restaurants charge in-person patrons, the company said. By contrast, third-party delivery services often charge customers higher menu prices than diners would get at a restaurant.
Offering in-store prices can save customers between 15% and 30%, Olo said.
"It's a better experience for consumers and a more sustainable model for restaurants, with no menu price inflation and no barriers standing between great brands and the people and communities they serve," Olo CEO and founder Noah Glass said.
Food delivery is one area where consumers continue to spend money, even as they cut back their budgets elsewhere. How much customers pay for delivery — and whether apps charge individuals different prices or the same order — can affect how often they order.
Olo is stepping into a competitive space. DoorDash and Uber Eats continue to grow, including by rearching into club deliveries and catering. And Walmart, which spent years building its own grocery-focused delivery service, started delivering restaurant orders earlier this year.
Olo got its start in 2005 with a service that let users text their orders to restaurants in the pre-smartphone era. Now, the company fields about 3.5 million orders daily through around 800 restaurant brands.
The company doesn't have its own team of delivery drivers. Instead, the company uses its own dispatch service to compare delivery options at other third-party services, such as Grubhub, and pick one based on factors like cost and speed.
Olo's delivery app will allow customers to order from about 250 restaurants, including Five Guys and Dave's Hot Chicken.
Do you have a story idea about Uber Eats, DoorDash, or another delivery service? Contact this reporter at abitter@businessinsider.com or via encrypted messaging app Signal at 808-854-4501. Use a personal email address, a nonwork WiFi network, and a nonwork device; here's our guide to sharing information securely.
FIRST ON FOX: Rep. James Gallagher, R-Calif., urged FBI Director Kash Patel on Monday to crack down on illegal marijuana cultivation operations in Northern California.
Gallagher sent the letter after the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office reported extensive illegal cultivation and illegal immigrant labor in the region. The congressman said the operations have harmed local ranchers, depleted groundwater supplies and raised concerns about potential financing from Chinese organized-crime networks.
"Entire rural properties are now covered with rows of makeshift, plastic-covered greenhouses, known as ‘hoop houses,’ where marijuana is cultivated using groundwater hauled in from nearby wells," Gallagher wrote in a letter exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital.
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"The consequences have been devastating, with residents facing depleted water supplies and threats to their safety, while local farmers and ranchers contend with increased competition for groundwater and the risk of contamination to their agricultural land," he continued.
The letter cited estimates of as many as 7,000 illegal growers in the Mount Shasta Vista subdivision alone. Gallagher said illegal cultivation has also expanded onto federal lands, including the Shasta-Trinity National Forest.
GEORGIA SHERIFF SEIZES 1,800 POUNDS OF SUSPECTED BLACK-MARKET MARIJUANA SHIPPED FROM CALIFORNIA
In 2025, the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office reported eradicating 332,871 illegal marijuana plants and seizing 54,070 pounds of processed marijuana.
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Gallagher also raised concerns that Chinese organized-crime networks could be financing or directing some of the operations.
"In Siskiyou County, investigators have traced cultivation properties to individuals residing outside the county, while those managing the grows often have no apparent ownership interest," Gallagher wrote. "These arrangements raise serious concerns about who is actually financing and controlling these operations and whether the ownership arrangements are intended to conceal their involvement."
Gallagher pointed to a 2018 federal investigation in California involving an illegal marijuana growing operation that authorities said was funded with money from China. The investigation led to federal forfeiture actions involving more than 100 properties in the Sacramento area, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California.
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The congressman also cited environmental damage linked to the illegal grow sites, including the use of toxic pesticides.
"Compounding these concerns is the widespread use of highly toxic pesticides, including chemicals banned in the United States and products bearing Chinese-language labels that are suspected of being illegally imported," Gallagher wrote.
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Siskiyou County investigators have identified at least 27 pesticide compounds at illegal grow sites, according to county findings. Officials have warned that the chemicals could pose risks to residents, law enforcement officers and first responders.
The civil servants’ union federation ADEDY has called a strike on Wednesday, October 21, from 11:00 in the morning until the end of the day’s shift. The strike action applies to all employees, regardless of their employment terms, in public-sector services throughout the country. Supported by pupils and university students, the teachers unions have called […]
The post Civil Servants, Culture unions join Teachers’ strike, Students’ protests on Oct 21 appeared first on Keep Talking Greece.
A major drop in the number of kids of illegal migrants enrolled in California's schools is saving the state millions in education dollars.
The post Migrant Enrollment in California Schools Craters, Saving Millions in Taxpayer Dollars appeared first on Breitbart.
A McDonald's in Paris was left ransacked and heavily damaged after cost-of-living protests exploded into riots and widespread looting that also targeted restaurants, cafés and grocery stores across the French capital — with the city now issuing curfews in two places, The Associated Press reported.
The McDonald's on Boulevard de Magenta near Gare de l'Est suffered smashed windows and extensive damage inside, according to Le Monde.
Computer screens were damaged — while an ice cream machine continued spilling vanilla onto a ketchup-covered floor, the outlet reported.
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Intruders even attempted to cook french fries before a man and his dog drove about 20 people from the restaurant, a security guard told the publication.
Fox News Digital reached out to McDonald's for comment about the vandalism.
The American-based fast-food chain was hardly the only food business to be caught up in the destruction.
A neighborhood café was burned out, a wine shop was destroyed and supermarkets were among the businesses targeted as unrest swept Paris.
Among the hardest hit was La Barrique, a neighborhood café near Place de la République that was burned out, according to Le Monde.
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The son of the café's owners told the outlet his mother was inside when the business was attacked and was later taken to a hospital with a head injury.
Grocery stores were hit hard as well.
The Franprix, Monoprix, Picard and Carrefour City locations were among the grocery retailers targeted during the unrest, according to French news agency AFP.
At a Franprix on Rue Beaurepaire near Place de la République, shelves were emptied and products were either stolen or crushed on the floor.
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Looters elsewhere were seen leaving supermarkets carrying bags filled with food, juice and alcohol, Le Monde reported.
An Intermarché Express on Boulevard de Magenta was also looted. A crew from Euronews said they were assaulted by masked individuals while reporting near the supermarket.
A Nicolas wine shop on Boulevard de Magenta was also destroyed — with shattered bottles and wine covering the area outside the store, according to Le Monde.
The destruction was part of widespread violence that followed demonstrations Saturday over the rising cost of living and other grievances.
French-born restaurateur Olivia Ostrow, who now operates Maison Ostrow in South Florida, told Fox News Digital the unrest reflects tensions extending far beyond the French capital.
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Ostrow, who was born in Paris and whose grandparents survived the Holocaust, expressed concern about what she described as rising antisemitism and the role of social media in fueling hostility.
She argued that some demonstrators have embraced political causes without fully understanding the history behind them.
"Those kids and most of those people couldn't point to Israel on the world map if it hit them in the face," she said.
Many on social media shared their dismay about what is happening in France.
"I have nothing but disgust for anyone trying to justify this," wrote one person. "Let me say it, the ones suffering the consequences are ordinary French people, not the government. It's ordinary citizens who will pay for this, whose cars were burned, whose businesses and homes were looted, and whose physical integrity were threatened."
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"These are not protests anymore," another person wrote.
Several European governments are now advising travelers to France to avoid large crowds and exercise caution during their stay, Reuters reported.
© Tierney L. Cross/The New York Times
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