FIRST ON FOX: A French business owner who had five of her family's stores wrecked by looters last week said this coming Saturday's protest could be a watershed moment for France.

Her message to President Emmanuel Macron: "Next Saturday is your last chance to save France," Michele Teboul, the business owner, said in an interview with Fox News Digital. 

Addressing both Interior Minister Laurent Nunez and Macron, she said, "If they don't do what’s necessary to do next Saturday, I think it is lost for France."

Teboul lost more than merchandise when looters ransacked 15 of the stores owned by her family, leaving five completely destroyed. She is also losing faith in whether the government of France can still protect them.

REPORTER'S NOTEBOOK: FRANCE BRACES FOR MORE UNREST AFTER PARTS OF PARIS SPUN OUT OF CONTROL

Teboul accused authorities of failing to provide enough police to protect businesses, leaving families like hers facing destroyed stores and a costly recovery. She demanded that they protect the population before another Saturday. 

Her retail operations include stores in Paris, Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseille and Montpellier. Her sons work within the same company and operate their own brand, she said.

For her family, protections put in place before the violence proved insufficient. Attackers used axes to break through boarding, she said, leaving her sons facing a difficult recovery.

"We can say that five of the most important stores have been looted," she said, describing those locations as "completely destroyed."

Now, her family needs to pay for additional protection while trying to meet insurance security requirements.

Teboul said it would take at least two months to repair and secure the stores to the required standards. She described those requirements as a condition for obtaining insurance coverage, adding another obstacle to reopening and recovering the business.

"I think the winter season is dead," she said.

VIOLENCE ERUPTS AT FRANCE PROTESTS AS MACRON WARNS UNREST IS BEING EXPLOITED

Companies with established operations and financial reserves may be able to absorb the disruption, she said. Younger businesses face a more difficult path.

"The government said they would help us," Teboul said. "We are going to see."

Her sons have hired security guards with dogs. She also said she had heard of other shopkeepers obtaining weapons or tear gas, emphasizing that her sons had not purchased weapons.

"Some have bought weapons," she said. "You know, we are not used to weapons in France."

The concern extends beyond damaged merchandise and storefronts. Teboul, who is Jewish, said that many Jews are considering leaving France and warned that further disorder could deepen that uncertainty if things don't get better.

SOME SYNAGOGUES CANCELED PRAYERS AS FRENCH JEWS FACED WARNINGS AMID VIOLENT PROTESTS

"It is going to be very hard to imagine a future in France for us, especially for Jews," she said of her hope that the coming Saturday would be different.

Teboul said Jewish schools, synagogues and community businesses have dedicated security arrangements. Teboul is a former director of CRIF, the umbrella organization representing French Jewish institutions.

She stressed, however, that the weekend's violence was a national problem affecting people beyond the Jewish community.

"The specific problem of last Saturday is not a problem of Jews," she said. "The whole of France is concerned by this problem."

Teboul said looters sought streetwear and expensive merchandise. She accused police of failing to protect businesses during the unrest on Saturday, saying officers were overwhelmed as large crowds descended on city centers, particularly in Marseille and Lyon.

She cited an estimate she had heard being talked of as being around 30,000 young people arriving in central Marseille, a figure Fox News Digital could not independently verify.

Leading French broadcaster BFM reported on its X account that "Between 1,800 and 3,000 people" engaged in "the ransacking of the city center of Marseille, according to the prosecutor's estimates."

MACRON JETS OUT OF RIOT-TORN FRANCE FOR GULF TRIP AS POLITICAL PRESSURE MOUNTS

"They were not enough," she said of the police.

The French government has acknowledged failures in its response to the unrest.

She said that authorities had mistaken the threat for an ordinary demonstration. "Of course they could prevent it," she added.

Teboul distinguished between students protesting over grievances and those who used the demonstrations as cover to steal.

"There were two events on Saturday," she said. "The looters, they took the opportunity that there were many people downtown, and then they came."

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For Teboul, the next test is whether authorities can protect what remains of their livelihood and everyone else in the country and restore their sense of security in France.

"We have to feel secure," she said. "We do not feel secure for the moment."

Teboul warned that another failure to protect the population could also have consequences for the government of Emmanuel Macron.

"The government may fall down," she said.

Fox News Digital's Sydney Finver contributed to this report. 

As violent riots grip France, British political leader Nigel Farage warned Americans against repeating what he described as Europe's mass immigration failures, arguing that years of unchecked migration have transformed European cities and fueled unrest that could eventually spread elsewhere.

"People like me who were warning about this years ago have sadly been proven right, but the problems are gonna be here for a very, very long time," Farage told Fox News Digital in an interview. "Please, please don't make the same level of mistakes that we have," he said in his message to Americans.

Violent riots have erupted across parts of Europe in recent weeks, particularly in France, with Farage pointing to years of mass migration and failed political leadership as key factors fueling the unrest. The Reform UK leader singled out Emmanuel Macron, arguing that the French president should have mobilized the military to confront the violence, after education protests spiraled into riots, destruction and theft.

MACRON JETS OUT OF RIOT-TORN FRANCE FOR GULF TRIP AS POLITICAL PRESSURE MOUNTS

"Macron was asleep at the wheel, and it isn't just that he was at a concert," Farage said. "And whilst the French do have effective police forces, the scale of the uprising, I mean the mass looting, the mass looting and violence that took place in Paris was genuinely horrendous."

"Meloni's reaction was swifter and a better sign of leadership," Farage said, referring to the Italian leader deploying 500 military troops to Milan in response to recent riots. "But the problem is, for people like Macron, who have always said, any criticism of immigration, whether legal or illegal, makes you racist, they psychologically find it hard to face up to their own failures of policy."

Farage warned that the unrest he described in France and elsewhere in Europe could eventually erupt in Britain, pointing to demonstrations in London and questioning whether British leaders would respond more forcefully than Macron.

ITALY UNLEASHES MILITARY RESPONSE TO VIOLENT RIOTS AS FRANCE FACES A RECKONING OF ITS OWN

"You know, my real worry is they can happen in this country too," Farage said. "We've got the same hard left here. We've the same hate mobs that march, chanting in the streets of London, from the river to the sea."

"I'm concerned that these things could happen here. And I wonder whether a British prime minister has got any more courage than President Macron in France," he added.

Farage contrasted Europe's failure to control its borders with President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown in the United States.

TRUMP, WALTZ LINK FRANCE RIOTS TO MASS IMMIGRATION AS THOUSANDS ARE ARRESTED

"Look, whatever you think of President Trump's current policies, one thing he has done, and he promised he'd do. He's closed the southern border," Farage said.

Trump vowed Tuesday to treat potential rioters in the U.S. "very rough," pointing to the unrest in France, he said at a rally in Greenville, North Carolina, before being interrupted by a protestor in the crowd.

"They're crazy, these people. Look at that guy. He's a nutjob," Trump said, in reference to the protester.

He warned that he would crack down on potential threats, saying he would not allow similar unrest to take hold in the U.S.

FRANCE COULD FACE EVEN WORSE DESTRUCTION WITH SECOND WEEKEND OF PLANNED RIOTS, STATE DEPT WARNS

"That's what you witness over the last three or four days. You watch nutjobs like him in France ruining their country," Trump said. "We're not going to put up with it by the way."

"If a possible threat, which could happen, I hope you won't get angry if I treat them very, very rough, because that's what's going to happen. They're not going to destroy our country," he said.

On Tuesday, British counterterrorism police rearrested two men suspected of assisting Iranian intelligence in an alleged plot targeting RAF Fairford, a U.K. base used by U.S. bombers.

Authorities say Iranian state involvement is "highly likely," though no charges have been filed.

FOILED TERROR PLOT AT BOMBER BASE SIGNALS WIDER THREAT TO US MILITARY INSTALLATIONS: EXPERT

Farage said he has foreshadowed such criminal acts, alleging that Iran has exploited illegal crossings of the English Channel to move operatives into Britain.

"I've called again and again for this to be declared a national security emergency. I have been ignored. If the Americans removing their bombers from RAF Fairford isn't enough warning. I don't know what is," he said.

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"We've just become so caught up over here in Europe and Britain with this human rights culture, which puts the interests, frankly, of the bad guys above the interests of the majority."

The mayor of Nice, France, rebuked Victor Wembanyama for supporting the ongoing protest movement in France, accusing the NBA star of encouraging unrest.

"French celebrities like the basketball player Victor Wembanyama, who called for supporting the riots of October 17, bear a historic responsibility," Ciotti wrote on X. "They must be condemned."

For background, the protests began in September with high school students claiming they were demanding better conditions in French schools, including more resources, improved facilities and relief from overcrowded classrooms. The movement has since expanded into a broader protest against government spending cuts, drawing support from university students, labor unions and members of France's "Yellow Vest" movement.

KYRIE IRVING, VICTOR WEMBANYAMA LIKE MAMDANI'S VIDEO CALLING NETANYAHU A 'WAR CRIMINAL'

The unrest escalated significantly on Oct. 17, when an estimated 550,000 to 800,000 people participated in demonstrations across France. Rioters broke out in several major cities, including Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Rioters and looters clashed with police, set fires, damaged public buildings and looted businesses.

Earlier this month, Wembanyama, who was born in France, wrote on Instagram that he'd "really love to" join the protests.

"These are systemic inequalities, problems that are so deep," he added when asked about the demonstrations during a preseason postgame press conference on October 8.

"I’m glad that high school students, young people in general, are making their voices heard, because I hear them and I support them. And I hope the people at the very top will do the same."

Then, on Oct. 16, the eve of the nationwide demonstrations, Wembanyama posted a cryptic image of the White Rabbit from "Alice in Wonderland" pointing to his watch. Some in France interpreted the post as signaling anticipation for the Oct. 17 demonstrations, though Wembanyama did not explain its meaning.

Wembanyama has not publicly commented on the protests since the widespread violence on Oct. 17.

As the emerging face of the NBA, Wembanyama has shown he's more LeBron James than Michael Jordan in his approach to political issues. Last January, he said he ignored the advice of Spurs public relations and spoke out against ICE in America anyway.

"PR has tried, but I'm not going to sit here and give some politically correct [answer]," Wembanyama told reporters. "Every day I wake up and see the news, and I'm horrified. I think it's crazy that some people might make it seem like or sound like the murder of civilians is acceptable."

During the NBA Finals, Wembanyama drew attention for crossing his arms during the playing of the U.S. national anthem. Later in the series, he reportedly stayed off the court entirely during the anthem.

VICTOR WEMBANYAMA CROSSING HIS ARMS DURING U.S. NATIONAL ANTHEM IS A PROBLEM FOR THE NBA | BOBBY BURACK

It would behoove the NBA for its biggest star to not align himself with polarizing political causes. James did little to help his own or the league's popularity when he embraced political activism.

I suspect Wembanyama's commentary and demonstrations, whether about America or France, won't help the league's popularity either.

One must also wonder how informed Wembanyama is about the issues on which he comments. This tends to be the question when athletes and celebrities speak out about complicated issues.

His initial support was for students protesting conditions in French schools. Fine. However, the movement he encouraged has since grown into something much larger and, at times, much more violent.

Wembanyama was willing to lend his considerable platform to the demonstrations when they represented a cause he supported. Now that those demonstrations have been accompanied by widespread violence, he ought to use that same platform to condemn it.

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So far, he hasn't. Nor has he responded to Mayor Ciotti's criticism of him.

PARIS, France: Paris is burning. Yet again. But this time, according to officials and analysts, it’s different. And unrest here could have a lasting impact on France… perhaps the world.

I have been covering protests in France for decades. I lived in Paris for nine years. I know that the French are very skilled at taking politics to the street. The recent upheaval has many worried.

From all the people I hear from on the ground here, the rioting has been more violent, more destructive, more profound. Domestic strife seemingly out of control.

FRANCE IS DEVOURING ITSELF AS SCHOOL RIOTS REVEAL A CRISIS FAR BIGGER THAN BROKEN CLASSROOMS

When I approached the bar at a brasserie near Place de la Republique, the server asked if I was an American and a journalist. After replying yes to both he concluded, "So you’ve come to cover the civil war."

The numbers tell the tale. Some 2,500 arrests during the last weekend of clashes between protesters and police. Around 1,000 officers injured. Many hurt, some seriously, on the activists’ side. And about 3,000 businesses impacted, trashed, looted. Damage estimated over one billion dollars.

FRANCE'S MASSIVE INTEL FAILURE SPARKS RESIGNATION OFFERS AMID DAYS OF RIOTING

What was most striking were the attacks on official buildings. An historic city hall in Limoges. A police headquarters in crime-ridden Marseille. An important tourist office in Lyon. Symbols of a French government under siege.

The mostly peaceful protests supporting recent student concerns, as well as working and middle-class economic worries, hijacked by those bent on anarchy. And opportunistic young crooks looking for cheap thrills.

Yes, there are immigrants and foreigners amid the rabble. Plus, those said to have ties with so-called "ultra-left" groupings. But this remains a very French uprising. Which in a way makes it even more unsettling.

Nearly ten years of rule by President Emmanuel Macron has left this country more divided, with promises unfilled, anger near the surface. And violence a real danger.

FRENCH NEWSPAPER RIPS MACRON AFTER RIOTS ERUPT ACROSS FRANCE: ‘INDELIBLE STAIN’

What was also deeply troubling about the latest bout of violence — and authorities have admitted it — is that there were periods of time when parts of Paris and other cities were out of control. Shop owners were forced to fend for themselves.

All of this plum pickings for politicians on the left and right. Either sympathizing with protesters’ demands. Or calling for more law and order. Both sides slamming those in power. With presidential elections upcoming in six months, timing is everything.

With the French treasury bare, it seems the more pressing and more promising route for the current authorities is greater security.

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That’s why top government officials have been speaking out about their planning for the next big protest set for this weekend. French Prime Minister Lecornu says it will be countered by a "massive police operation" backed by the military. Activists will have to choose, Lecornu went on to say, between "violence" and the French "republic."

"Do or die" talk that still does not address the underlying problems, not just facing France but other countries as well. That’s why, in addition to the curiosity factor of everyone being intrigued by France, it could also provide some real-time lessons on how or how not to deal with a brave new world of inequality and dwindling resources.

See you at the "barricades."

The U.S. Embassy in France is warning Americans to steer clear of violent protests as unrest sparked curfews and raised concerns about travel disruptions across the country.

The riots — fueled by a range of grievances, including rising living costs and mass migration — have been reported across France, with protests reported in cities including Paris, Lille and Lyon. Authorities have imposed localized curfews as a result.

The embassy said in a Monday statement that partial curfews had been introduced in several French cities, with additional restrictions possible.

MCDONALD'S RANSACKED AND WRECKED AS STORES, RESTAURANTS SUFFER FROM VIOLENCE AND RIOTING

"Following the October 17 protests that turned violent, media report the Prime Minister’s office introduced partial curfews for Monday, October 19 and Tuesday, October 20 in several cities across France, including Lille," the embassy said.

"Media report more curfews may follow for parts of Paris and in prefectures across the country, and that scattered protests could continue."

In Paris, authorities also imposed overnight curfews in areas including Place de la République and the Les Halles Shopping District, according to The Associated Press (AP).

Riot police deployed tear gas across the streets near Place de la République in an attempt to disperse crowds during the escalating street battles, the same source reported. 

ANGRY LOCALS BLOCK FAMOUS BEACH AS MASS TOURISM PROTESTS ESCALATE AT VACATION HOT SPOT

The gas quickly mixed with heavy, acrid smoke from torched vehicles and street fires, according to Reuters.

The chaos forced Dutch entrepreneur Tije De Boer, who was visiting Paris with his children, to evacuate his hotel at Place de la République. 

De Boer described the scene to Reuters as "like a war zone" following the intense protests that rocked the French capital on Oct. 17.

"It's like a war zone here," De Boer said, according to the Reuters report.

TOP TOURIST DESTINATION IN THE WORLD SHUTS DOWN AMID VIOLENT PROTESTS

Major tourist attractions have also been impacted.

The Louvre Museum in Paris was forced to close Monday after protesters blocked its entrances, Fox News Digital previously reported.

Travelers visiting Paris are being advised to avoid popular protest gathering spots, including Place de la République, Place de la Bastille and Place de la Nation, along with major thoroughfares such as Boulevard Voltaire, which are frequently used for demonstrations, according to The Times of London.

Outside the capital, Lyon's tourism office at Place Bellecour was vandalized and set ablaze during the Oct. 17 demonstrations, according to city officials. 

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Visitor services have since been relocated to a temporary facility on the same square.

The violence also spread to other French cities, including Limoges, where the historic town hall was set ablaze during the Oct. 17 unrest, according to numerous reports. 

In Bordeaux, the mayor reported that as many as 100 stores had been looted during the demonstrations, Reuters reported.

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Despite the violence, flights to and from Paris have largely continued operating, according to flight data reviewed by Fox News Digital.

However, travelers could still face disruptions on the ground, with the embassy advising Americans to check for Metro station closures and other transportation interruptions before heading out.

The embassy also urged travelers to confirm flight schedules directly with their airlines and allow extra time to reach their destinations.

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"Monitor media and local resources for updated information and curfews in your area," the statement added. "Plan alternative routes and allow extra travel time for travel."

Fox News Digital reached out to the State Department for comment.

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Fox News Digital's Jessica Mekles and Reuters contributed reporting.

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.

RO KHANNA SPARKS BACKLASH OVER FRANCE RIOT COMMENTS AS CRITIC SAYS HE WANTS TO ‘RIDE THE RAGE WAVE’

"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.

FRANCE IS DEVOURING ITSELF AS SCHOOL RIOTS REVEAL A CRISIS FAR BIGGER THAN BROKEN CLASSROOMS

"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. 

"Is Paris Burning?"

The title of that 1960s movie came from a message Adolf Hitler sent to his commanding general in Paris in August 1944. He wanted Paris to burn if he couldn’t keep it.

Today, the call isn’t coming from the Führerbunker; it’s from inside the house. It’s not Nazis, but the French — and quasi-French — burning Paris and other French cities.

The Louvre museum in Paris, home to the Mona Lisa, closed Monday "due to a student social movement." That’s one way to describe the utter chaos overtaking French cities.

PHOTOS SHOW AFTERMATH OF RIOTS AS MASKED GROUPS CLASH WITH POLICE ACROSS FRANCE

In Limoges, rioters set fire to the town hall, destroying its iconic tower. In Marseille, they broke into city hall and vandalized the interior. In Paris, a video circulating online appeared to show young thugs shouting, "Wallah! Kill her!" and "Dirty whore!" [my translation] at a policewoman they chased and threw to the ground — all while trashing property and assaulting people on the streets.

What’s happening in France is both familiar and new. It’s familiar in that mass protests are endemic to France. They happen every few years when a feckless government tries to balance the books by reforming France’s ruinously generous public benefits. What’s new is the addition of foreign influence and the scale of the violence.

FRENCH SCHOOL RIOTS DEEPEN AS EXPERTS POINT TO FAR-LEFT ALLIANCE FUELING ‘BROADER CONFRONTATION’

The high-schoolers who kicked off this round of protests are angry about class sizes, dilapidated schools, and access to college. Retirees who joined them say state pensions aren’t enough to live on. Everyone complains about the high cost of living. They all want more state spending to cure their ills.

French protests often turn violent. Torched cars, vandalized property, and looting are common. What has added fuel to the fire this time is the "Casseurs" (breakers), looters, and violent thugs going beyond what was tacitly tolerated in the past. Many seem to be of migrant background, and some carry Palestinian flags or those of the North African countries they or their parents came from.

FRANCE ROCKED BY STUDENT RIOTS AS HUNDREDS ARRESTED, VIOLENCE SPREADS NATIONWIDE

Videos in French media showed streets of looted stores. Rue Paradis in Marseille has many high-end jewelry and fashion stores, but also many mom-and-pop shops whose owners work long hours for little profit. Dozens of these are now looted shells. Their metal shutters — designed to prevent windows from being broken and stores from being burglarized — lie torn off or broken.

Many of France’s major cities are run by socialists. Marseille’s mayor, Benoit Payan, blames the French government for failing to protect city hall — where his own office is — and local stores. He wants Paris to pay for all the damage. Once again, the French taxpayer is on the hook.

LIMOGES TOWN HALL 'LARGELY LOST' AFTER FAR-LEFT RIOTERS SET HISTORIC BUILDING ON FIRE AMID FRENCH UNREST

How does this end? Not quickly. The political left is well organized, galvanized, and funded — including with foreign money. We are likely to see more promises of increased spending from lame-duck President Emmanuel Macron, now in the last year of his two terms and unable to run again. He gave a speech condemning the violence on Sunday, but he’s been notably absent as it has unfolded. On Tuesday he stuck with his schedule and flew to the Gulf region.

France has presidential elections next April. Two leading contenders are Marine Le Pen of the right-wing National Rally (NR) and Jean-Luc Melenchon of the left-wing France Unbowed (LFI). Of the two, Le Pen promises to lower migration and limit welfare payments to migrants. Melenchon welcomes mass migration and opposes any reduction in benefits. Le Pen opposes illegal migration, but she hasn’t campaigned on reducing the bloated benefits bill.

MACRON JETS OUT OF RIOT-TORN FRANCE FOR GULF TRIP AS POLITICAL PRESSURE MOUNTS

But France’s checkbook is tapped out. It hasn’t balanced a budget in 50 years, and this year’s deficit is over 5%. Economic growth is under 1%. Diesel costs about $10 a gallon. National debt is 120% of GDP, and the bond market is getting nervous.

Like other developed countries, France’s fertility rate is below replacement, and the country has allowed in millions of immigrants from its former colonies. On balance, these new arrivals and their children have a lower employment rate than native French, but they get the same social services. Those numbers don’t work, no matter how smart the president in Paris.

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Not only is France broke, but it has too few bodies to handle multiple riots at once. France’s national police handle the cities, while the gendarmes enforce the law in the countryside. Both are funded centrally by the French state. Towns have municipal police, but they aren’t equipped or trained for law enforcement, let alone riot control. France has specialized riot-control units, but only so many. The French military is probably Europe’s best, but it is not used for internal operations.

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Like France, some of our major cities, New York and Seattle, are now run by avowed socialists. Arguably, administrations in Boston and Los Angeles are also closely aligned with DSA values. And more cities will be in the future. 

The DSA wants open borders, nationalized health care, curtailed law enforcement, and higher taxes. If we don’t take heed, France’s present could be our future.

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FIRST ON FOX: The State Department warns that antifascist groups are planning to participate in a "potentially more confrontational protest" this weekend as the far-right National Rally holds its political convention just days after widespread riots overwhelmed police and exposed major security failures.

As party leader Marine Le Pen prepares for the gathering on Oct. 24–25 in Orléans, France, an internal document obtained by Fox News Digital cautions that antagonists are planning more demonstrations near the convention venue that could "expose further security shortcomings and deepen political tensions."

The warning comes at a particularly dangerous political moment for President Emmanuel Macron, considering the same unrest that exposed his government's security vulnerabilities could also give National Rally and center-right parties an opening to challenge his record, according to the State Department assessment.

GLOBAL 'CHAOS INC' GROWS TO 101 GROUPS WITH PLANS FOR NEW ROUNDS OF DEMONSTRATIONS

Now, French authorities face another high-stakes security test as demonstrators prepare to converge on the congress of a party that could benefit politically from the previous unrest.

The demonstrations are expected to coincide with the National Rally's two-day party congress, where Le Pen is set to launch her presidential campaign. Left-wing parties, unions and activist groups are planning a march Saturday, while antifascist groups have announced plans for a separate protest Sunday near the convention venue, according to the State Department assessment.

WHO'S WHO: INSIDE FRANCE'S 'CHAOS INC.' FRANCHISE OF COMMUNIST GROUPS, LABOR UNIONS AND GLOBAL ACTIVISTS

National Rally President Jordan Bardella has ruled out canceling the congress, while local authorities are preparing additional security restrictions around the gathering.

The looming confrontation comes as France is still reeling from the Oct. 17 unrest, when authorities badly underestimated the scale of demonstrations that descended into widespread rioting and looting.

Some 550,000 people joined 110 marches nationwide, according to France's Interior Ministry. More than 2,400 people were arrested, nearly 1,000 law enforcement officers and firefighters were injured and thousands of businesses were damaged. And intelligence failures that far underestimated the turnout left authorities overwhelmed and facing more than double the number of protesters originally estimated.

The State Department's internal assessment notes that the violence has reshaped France's political debate just six months before voters choose Macron's successor. It says the unrest has shifted attention away from the economic and education grievances that initially drove the protests and toward public security and government accountability, potentially giving National Rally and center-right parties an opening to challenge Macron's record.

French officials have acknowledged that intelligence and planning failures contributed to authorities being overwhelmed during the Oct. 17 unrest.

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez offered his resignation after acknowledging police "lost control" in some major cities. Macron rejected it, citing the need for continuity in law enforcement command, and ordered "full transparency" over the failures in planning and intelligence-gathering that preceded the violence.

Nuñez has said authorities need to improve their ability to anticipate large-scale mobilizations, putting added pressure on security services to avoid a repeat when demonstrators converge on Orléans this weekend.

And the government may have little time to recover even if the National Rally congress passes without major violence.

Labor organizations are already mobilizing for nationwide strikes and demonstrations Nov. 5 over wages, public services and the proposed 2027 budget, according to the State Department document.

The internal assessment said Macron faces competing pressure to restore order while addressing the grievances fueling the protests, with limited fiscal room for concessions as parliament debates next year's budget.

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With parliamentary scrutiny looming and further demonstrations already planned, the State Department assessed that France faces another potential flash point that could "expose further security shortcomings and deepen political tensions."

The political theater of "Chaos Inc." is preparing for a "rebellion...sweeping Europe."

Two days after an estimated 500,000 demonstrators poured into streets across France and clashes left parts of Paris and other cities burning, French activists are calling supporters back into the streets Saturday, Oct. 24, for a new protest billed as "Acte II," with 212 "mobilizations" currently planned, according to a digital map of the plans.

And a growing number of communist, socialist and hard-leftist organizations are answering another call for a coordinated European youth strike on Friday, Nov. 20.

VIOLENCE ERUPTS AT FRANCE PROTESTS AS MACRON WARNS UNREST IS BEING EXPLOITED

A Fox News Digital investigation has now identified 101 organizations across 9 countries – including the U.S. – that are coordinating, organizing or amplifying protests in Europe in an expanding protest ecosystem, up from 54 organizations identified on Monday.

Most of the groups are adult-led, with just 33 organizations – or one in three – led by students or youth. They represent a nexus of the "red-green" alliance, merging Islamist organizations that are symbolized by the color green, and far-left, communist and socialist groups represented by the color red.

FRENCH SCHOOL RIOTS DEEPEN AS EXPERTS POINT TO FAR-LEFT ALLIANCE FUELING ‘BROADER CONFRONTATION’

The network also include groups that proudly use the "Antifa" moniker, like "Action AntiFa16," an organization that describes itself in the Angoulême, France, Acte II announcement.

Across the Atlantic, leaders in the U.S. franchise of "Chaos Inc." are amplifying the protests. University of California at Berkeley academic Hatem Bazian, founder of anti-Israel Palestinian organizations including Students for Justice in Palestine and American Muslims for Palestine, shared videos from the protests.

FRANCE IS DEVOURING ITSELF AS SCHOOL RIOTS REVEAL A CRISIS FAR BIGGER THAN BROKEN CLASSROOMS

Revealing the complex threads of the "red-green" alliance, Bazian drew connections between this year's Oct. 17 riots in Paris, explosions at the Al Alhi Hospital in Gaza on Oct. 17, 2023, and protests on Oct. 17, 1961, in Paris by Algerian demonstrators , which led to a bloody and deadly confrontation with police. Hamas officials blamed Israel for the hospital deaths, while Israel attributed the blast to a failed, errant rocket launched from within Gaza by Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Bazian didn't respond to a request for comment.

The European unrest is also receiving sympathetic amplification from a network of pro-communist organizations, including BreakThrough News, CodePink and the Party for Socialism and Liberation, funded and supported by Neville Roy Singham, an American-born tech tycoon who lives in Shanghai and has expressed support for "new world order" of the Chinese Communist Party and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

BBC CALLS FRANCE PROTESTS 'MOSTLY PEACEFUL' AS FOOTAGE SHOWS RIOTERS TORCHING CARS, BATTLING POLICE

On Tuesday afternoon, BreakThrough News is planning an online discussion with a headline that captures how the outlet is framing the unrest: "Europe's Youth Uprising."

"A rebellion is sweeping Europe," BreakThrough News declares.

FURIOUS CROWDS PROTEST SKY-HIGH HOUSING COSTS AND MASS TOURISM IN MAJOR CITY

"From student barricades in France, to Spain's housing encampments, to Albanians marching to save their coastline from Jared Kushner, Gen Z is rising up against austerity, soaring rents, and governments pouring money into weapons and war instead of their future," the outlet said.

BreakThrough News said protests had spread "from Paris and Madrid to Lisbon and Tirana" and announced that France-based journalist Rafael Karoubi would join hosts Rania Khalek and Zoe Alexandra to explain "what's driving the uprising."

FRANCE'S MASSIVE INTEL FAILURE SPARKS RESIGNATION OFFERS AMID DAYS OF RIOTING

In France, organizers are using the website 17octobregiletjaune.net to organize logistics, communication and people for their protests. The domain was registered on Sept. 15 by an anonymous user, according to online records. In the face of curfews and security measures against their protests by French President Emmanuel Macron, website organizers have a new demand: "Macron must leave and make way for the people!"

PHOTOS SHOW AFTERMATH OF RIOTS AS MASKED GROUPS CLASH WITH POLICE ACROSS FRANCE

Leaders are coordinating their efforts in a Telegram messaging channel, where they are sharing logistical details and polished, ready-made graphics.

After "Acte II," they have planned another action on Oct. 31, "Acte III," featuring "yellow vests, demonstrations and roundabouts, all over France," and there are other actions planned on Nov. 5 and Nov. 14.

THOUSANDS FLOOD BRUSSELS STREETS AS ANTI-AUSTERITY PROTESTS ERUPT INTO CLASHES WITH POLICE

There are activities even listed for April 3, 2027, ("Noisy spring") and May 29, 2027, ("Day against agrochemistry"). The locations listed: "Everywhere in France."

For the Nov. 20 action, another set of far-left groups are promoting their "International Youth Strike" on a website, calling for coordinated "demonstrations," "walkouts," "assemblies," "actions," "blockades and occupations."

Their manifesto declares that "the exploitation of workers, climate breakdown and war are not failures of the system but the essence of capitalism." In a press release, it says the struggle against "militarisation, rearmament, austerity and imperialism" is inseparable from the economic system supporting it and calls for "radical system change."

The British organization "Socialist Students," which describes itself as building the student fightback for "socialist change," says it will participate in the Nov. 20 strike, "in coordination with 30 other European youth and student groups.

A Socialist Students appeal urges young people to join "a movement for socialist change," while another campaign statement declares: "Our fight for socialism is based on Marxism" and argues that "workers and young people must actively fight and organise."

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An unidentified person registered the youthstrike.org domain on Aug. 2, according to online records.

WHO'S WHO IN THE EXPANDING 'GLOBAL CHAOS INC.' NETWORK (101)

ACTE II, OCT. 24 – NEW (14)

1. Coordination régionale Bloquons tout Île-de-France — Île-de-France Regional "Block Everything" Coordination – PROTEST COORDINATION: Regional "Block Everything" organization behind the platform promoting "Acte II."
2. Peuple RÉVOLTÉ – People in Revolt — PROTEST COLLECTIVE: Organization helping operate the "Acte II" platform.
3. Maintenant! – Now! — PROTEST MOVEMENT: Civic movement participating in the "Acte II" platform.
4. Indignons-nous, Bloquons tout – Let’s Get Indignant, Block Everything — DIRECT ACTION: Protest collective promoting "Acte II."
5. Coordination nationale lycéenne – National High School Students’ Coordination — STUDENT/YOUTH: New national high-school coordination calling students into the streets Oct. 24 for "Acte II."

Angoulême, France

1. NPA Charente – New Anticapitalist Party–Charente (NPA 16) — REVOLUTIONARY SOCIALIST: Local NPA chapter mobilizing for Acte II.
2. Action Antifasciste 16 — ANTIFASCIST: Collaborator on the Angoulême Acte II announcement.
3. Maison des Peuples et de la Paix – House of Peoples and Peace — ACTIVIST: Angoulême organization collaborating on the Acte II call.
4. Fanfare en lutte d'Angoulême – Angoulême Marching Band in Struggle — ACTIVIST: Local activist collective collaborating on Acte II.
5. Révolution Permanente Angoulême — Permanent Revolution–Angoulême – REVOLUTIONARY SOCIALIST: Local chapter of Révolution Permanente, collaborating on the Oct. 24 mobilization.
6. Organisation de Solidarité Trans (OST) Angoulême — Trans Solidarity Organization–Angoulême – ACTIVIST / SOLIDARITY: Local organization listed as an Acte II collaborator.

Caen, France

1. Caen Antifa Squad — ANTIFASCIST: Collaborator on an "ACTE II — 24 OCTOBRE" announcement.
2. Caen en Lutte — Caen in Struggle – PROTEST COLLECTIVE: Local organization collaborating on Acte II.

Solidarité Étudiante 14 — Student Solidarity 14 – STUDENT: Calvados student organization collaborating on the Oct. 24 mobilization.

NOV. 20 INTERNATIONAL NETWORK

Belgium (3)

1. Comac — MARXIST/SOCIALIST YOUTH: Belgian youth organization associated with the Workers' Party.
2. RedFox — SOCIALIST YOUTH: Belgian socialist youth organization.
3. Vrede — ANTI-WAR: Belgian organization publishing and promoting the International Youth Strike manifesto.

France (1)

1. Mouvement National Lycéen — STUDENT/YOUTH: French high-school organization identified in the European Nov. 20 coalition.

Germany (6)

1. Schulstreik gegen Wehrpflicht — STUDENT/"ANTI-CONSCRIPTION": German school-strike network mobilizing for Nov. 20.
2. Die Falken — SOCIALIST YOUTH: German socialist youth organization involved in the international organizing process.
3. Linksjugend ['solid] — SOCIALIST YOUTH: Youth organization associated with Die Linke.
4. DIE LINKE.SDS — SOCIALIST STUDENT: German socialist university organization.
5. Socialist German Workers Youth, (SDAJ) — COMMUNIST YOUTH: Socialist German Workers Youth.
6. Sozialistische Organisation Solidarität — SOCIALIST: German socialist organization mobilizing around Nov. 20.

Ireland (1)

1. Militant Left — SOCIALIST: Irish socialist organization promoting the international mobilization.

Italy (4)

1. Rete della Conoscenza — LEFT-WING STUDENT: Italian student network helping build the international strike.
2. Unione degli Studenti — STUDENT: Italian high-school student organization promoting Nov. 20.
3. LINK – Coordinamento Universitario — STUDENT: Italian university network promoting the strike.
4. CGIL — LABOR: Italian labor confederation whose Nov. 20 general strike converges with the student mobilization.

Spain (1)

1. Sindicato de Estudiantes — SOCIALIST STUDENT: Spanish student organization identified in the international network.

United Kingdom (9)

1. Counterfire — REVOLUTIONARY SOCIALIST / ANTI-WAR: Promoting the Nov. 20 international strike.
2. Left Unity — SOCIALIST: Promoting the wider European mobilization.
3. International Youth Strike — INTERNATIONAL YOUTH / ANTI-CAPITALIST COALITION: The coordinating coalition behind the Nov. 20 strike says student and youth organizations across Europe are organizing demonstrations, walkouts, assemblies, blockades and occupations. Its manifesto says exploitation, climate breakdown and war are the "essence of capitalism," calls NATO an instrument of "imperial interests" that "should be dissolved," and demands "radical system change."
4. North West Pensioners Association — ACTIVIST: Organizational supporter of the Nov. 20 actions.
5. Socialist Party — TROTSKYIST: Socialist party promoting the international strike.
6. Socialist Students — SOCIALIST STUDENT: British organizer advocating a "socialist future."
7. Stop the War Coalition — ANTI-WAR: Promoting Nov. 20 student mobilization.
8. Universities and Colleges Union @ucunion — The largest trade union and professional association for academics, lecturers, trainers, researchers & academic-related staff in UK "Further Education" and "Higher Education."
9. Young Greens — YOUTH / GREEN: British youth organization identified among supporters.

Amplifiers (8)

1. CODEPINK — U.S. ANTI-WAR / ACTIVIST ORGANIZATION: The U.S. organization has explicitly connected the French protests to its own planned Washington mobilization. "From France to the United States, the message is clear," CODEPINK said, before promoting its Nov. 10-12 "Taxpayer Uprising" demanding that federal spending go toward education, healthcare and housing rather than the military.
2. Committee for a Workers' International (CWI) — TROTSKYIST / SOCIALIST: An international socialist organization whose national affiliates include Britain's Socialist Party and Ireland's Militant Left. Its international website is promoting the Nov. 20 youth walkout under the campaign slogan "Fight for our future not their wars."
3. International Socialist Alternative (ISA) — REVOLUTIONARY SOCIALIST: The international socialist organization says "Capitalism means war" and that it "wholeheartedly" supports the Nov. 20 strike. ISA says its members have helped organize Germany's anti-conscription school strikes and describes imperialism as the "highest stage of capitalism."
4. Party for Socialism and Liberation–Houston — MARXIST-LENINIST / U.S. CHAPTER: The Houston chapter of the U.S. Party for Socialism and Liberation is amplifying the French protest movement.
5. Progressive International — TRANSNATIONAL LEFT NETWORK: The international organization explicitly grouped the current protests in France, Spain, India and Albania in an Oct. 16 briefing and asked how the "new rebellions" could acquire organized political power. Most significantly, it said: "These are the forces that the Progressive International is working to support and connect."
6. Stop ReArm Europe — ANTI-WAR / ANTI-MILITARIZATION COALITION: A European coalition calling for demonstrations and actions around Nov. 20 under the slogan "Welfare, not Warfare." It says it supports students "refusing" militarization and calls on social movements, unions, civil-society groups, political organizations and parliamentarians to mobilize around the student strike.
7. teleSUR English — INTERNATIONAL MEDIA AMPLIFIER: The international media outlet amplified the French demonstrations with Oct. 17 coverage of clashes, fires and arrests in Paris, Lyon and other cities. This is evidence of international amplification.
8. World BEYOND War — INTERNATIONAL ANTI-WAR: A global organization that describes itself as a movement to "end war" and says it is part of the Stop ReArm Europe campaign. It is explicitly promoting the Nov. 20 International Youth Strike and urging supporters to "join this resistance."

FRANCE — ORIGINAL NETWORK (54)

1. Organisation communiste révolutionnaire — REVOLUTIONARY COMMUNIST: Communist organization involved in protests.
2. Parti communiste français — COMMUNIST: French Communist Party whose leaders and activists joined the demonstrations.
3. Parti des Indigènes de la République — DECOLONIAL: Political organization that defends the student revolt.
4. Parti de l'égalité socialiste — TROTSKYIST: Socialist organization advocating workers' action committees.
5. Revolutionary Communist Group — COMMUNIST: British organization that connects the French protests to capitalism, imperialism and Palestine.
6. Révolution Permanente — TROTSKYIST: Revolutionary socialist organization promoting student-worker mobilization.
7. World Socialist Web Site — TROTSKYIST MEDIA: Socialist outlet framing the French protests around capitalism, austerity and militarization.

Palestine-solidarity organizations

1. Union juive française pour la paix — PALESTINE SOLIDARITY: French Jewish organization that publicizes support for the protesting students.
2. Urgence Palestine — PALESTINE SOLIDARITY: French Palestine organization that amplified protest-related material.

Labor and professional organizations

1. CGT Éduc'action — LABOR: CGT's education-sector organization.
2. CFDT Éducation Formation Recherche Publiques — LABOR: Education and research union supporting the student movement.
3. CGT — LABOR: Major French labor confederation involved in the October mobilizations.
4. CNT — ANARCHO-SYNDICALIST: Revolutionary-syndicalist union that declared students were "right to revolt."
5. Confédération paysanne — FARMERS' UNION: Called agricultural workers into the Oct. 17 mobilization.
6. FSU — LABOR: Education and public-sector union federation.
7. FNEC FP-FO — LABOR: Force Ouvrière's education federation.
8. Force Ouvrière — LABOR: National labor confederation.
9. SUD éducation — LABOR: Left-wing education union.
10. SNES-FSU — LABOR: Secondary-school personnel union.
11. Union syndicale Solidaires — LABOR: Left-wing labor federation.
12. UNSA — LABOR: National autonomous trade-union federation.

Advocacy, environmental and protest organizations

1. Amnesty International France — HUMAN RIGHTS: Reported on police treatment of minors during the demonstrations.
2. ATTAC France — ECONOMIC JUSTICE: Connected the mobilization to austerity and economic policy.
3. Coordination nationale du mouvement du 26 septembre — PROTEST NETWORK: Mobilization network that encouraged participation in Oct. 17.
4. Extinction Rebellion — ENVIRONMENTAL: Environmental direct-action movement appearing in the protest ecosystem.
5. FCPE — PARENTS: National parents' federation that called members to demonstrate.
6. Gilets jaunes — Yellow Vests: Decentralized protest movement whose Oct. 17 mobilization converged with the students.
7. Intersyndicale nationale VTC — PROFESSIONAL / LABOR: Private-hire drivers' coalition promoting participation.
8. Les Soulèvements de la Terre — RADICAL ENVIRONMENTAL: Movement that celebrated the student revolt and called for antifascist mobilization.
9. Ligue des droits de l'Homme — HUMAN RIGHTS: Supported students and criticized police repression.
10. Movement Against Racism and for Friendship Between Peoples (MRAP) — ANTIRACIST: Antiracism organization involved in the wider coalition.
11. SOS Racisme — ANTIRACIST: Antiracism organization involved in supporting the movement.

International amplifiers

1. BreakThrough News — SINGHAM NETWORK / MEDIA: New York-based nonprofit amplifying the French protests internationally.
2. Indian Alliance Paris — INTERNATIONAL / DIASPORA: France-based organization connecting French and Indian protest messaging. Partnered with the People's Forum in Manhattan.

For some French Jews, Saturday's unrest brought an unsettling warning: conceal outward signs of Jewish identity and avoid gathering outside synagogues. 

One community member told Fox News Digital that some congregations had even canceled afternoon prayers on the Sabbath as demonstrations across France descended into violence.

Ahead of the protests on Saturday, he said, as a precaution, "Lots of synagogues sent out emails to their people saying, 'We're canceling Mincha on Shabbat afternoon. Please don't go out. It's going to be dangerous,'" Samuel Arrouas, a French Jewish community member who divides his time between Paris and Israel, told Fox News Digital.

Mincha is the Jewish afternoon prayer service. Arrouas, who returned to Israel before Saturday's protests, described his shock over the messages. "I'm 40 years old. First time I heard this," he said.

FRANCE'S MASSIVE INTEL FAILURE SPARKS RESIGNATION OFFERS AMID DAYS OF RIOTING

Arrouas said warnings also advised Jews against visibly wearing kippahs, traditional skullcaps, or tzitzit, ritual fringes worn by observant Jewish men. Worshipers were discouraged from lingering outside synagogues after services. "You go to prayers, and you immediately leave," he said.

Before leaving France, Arrouas said he encountered masked demonstrators carrying Palestinian flags near Paris Dauphine University.

"It's very scary," he said. "When you're Jewish and you pass in front of such a scene, the only thing you want to do is just get away."

The concerns emerged as approximately 550,000 people demonstrated across France on Oct. 17 against rising fuel prices, the cost of living and deteriorating public services, including schools. The demonstrations were masked rioters clashed with police, looted businesses and set fire to vehicles and buildings in Paris, Marseille and other cities. France's Interior Ministry reported approximately 2,400 arrests.

ISRAELI AMBASSADOR COMPARES FRANCE'S FAR-LEFT LEADER'S RHETORIC TO HITLER AS ANTISEMITISM SURGES

President Emmanuel Macron called for "calm and order" in a national address, warning against escalation. "We all feel anger and shame," he said, distinguishing protesters' "legitimate demands" from "those who destroyed, smashed and looted." He said "nothing justifies" the violence and pledged accountability. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez offered his resignation, which Macron refused.

Shannon Seban, the France-based executive director of European affairs at the Combat Antisemitism Movement, said the presence of Palestinian flags at demonstrations over domestic issues added to Jewish community concerns.

"We have seen Palestinian flags at demonstrations that were supposed to be about education and social demands. What does Gaza have to do with any of this?" Seban told Fox News Digital.

INSIDE THE PROTEST PLAYBOOK TO VILIFY ISRAEL ON 'GLOBAL DAY OF ACTION'

"This has nothing to do with legitimate student demands anymore. We are talking about organized violence, about people who are not coming to demonstrate but to destroy, to attack our police officers and to challenge the authority of the Republic," she said.

Seban linked the violence to rhetoric urging people to "globalize the intifada" and to antisemitic conspiracy theories circulating online.

"At the Combat Antisemitism Movement, we documented 1,384 antisemitic posts in just two days, including conspiracy theories accusing Jews and Israel of being behind the unrest," Seban said.

"The right to protest is fundamental in a democracy. But the right to protest is not the right to destroy," she added. "France and Europe must wake up. Before it is too late."

In Marseille, Bruno Benjamin, president of the Marseille-Provence branch of CRIF, the Representative Council of French Jewish Institutions, described the damage to local businesses and the anxiety facing the community.

"Several hundred shops were ransacked, vandalized and looted. The scale of the devastation is simply unbearable," Benjamin told Fox News Digital.

He said shopkeepers had seen years of work destroyed within hours, leaving some facing layoffs or temporary unemployment for employees.

"This is not just an attack on businesses. It is an attack on people's livelihood, their dignity, and the very fabric of our society," he said.

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France's Jewish community security organization, SPCJ, cautioned against assuming that Jewish-owned property was targeted because of religion. In a statement provided to Fox News Digital, SPCJ said a break-in and vandalism at a synagogue in Paris's 19th arrondissement initially suggested burglary, although the motive remained undetermined. Jewish-owned businesses were among those damaged in Marseille, it said, without evidence they had been singled out for being Jewish.

The U.S. State Department's existing Level 2 travel advisory urges Americans to exercise increased caution in France because of terrorism and unrest. Fox News Digital reached out to the French Embassy in Washington, D.C., for comment on the unrest and the safety of the Jewish community.

Benjamin said rising insecurity and antisemitism had left some French Jews considering whether to leave the country, while others remained determined to stay.

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"We must relentlessly combat antisemitism, defend their right to live in safety and dignity and ensure that no Jew in France should ever have to choose between their personal security and their love for their country," he said. "Because being Jewish in France should never mean having to live in fear."

For Seban of the Combat Antisemitism Movement, it's evident where the blame lies: "Let me be very clear: La France Insoumise and the far left bear a political responsibility for fueling this climate of violence and confrontation." 

As images of burning cars and historic buildings in France and Italy ricochet across Europe, leaders in Hungary and Poland are seizing the moment, not to address the unrest, but to redefine the migration debate.

Both Hungary and Poland have laid down markers on allowing migrants into their nations. Even to the point of being fined and sanctioned by the European Union courts for refusing to open their gates to unchecked immigration, in Hungary’s case under former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, while Poland faced sanctions in 2025.

Eurostat’s latest available figures show that in 2025 France had almost 10 million and Italy about 7 million foreign-born residents. Poland had roughly 1 million foreign-born residents, while Hungary had less than 700,000, with most born in other EU countries and in Poland’s case about half came from Ukraine.

TRUMP, WALTZ LINK FRANCE RIOTS TO MASS IMMIGRATION AS THOUSANDS ARE ARRESTED

Reacting to the violence, Hungary’s Prime Minister Péter Magyar posted on X that, "Europe can count on Hungary." He stated that, "In the face of this senseless destruction and unjustified violence, perhaps it is now clear to everyone why Hungary advocates the strictest possible approach to migration, and why we will not weaken our border protection or immigration policy under any pressure."

It is a sentiment echoed by Magyar’s Polish counterpart, Donald Tusk posted: "Poland will not repeat the mistakes of other European countries, nor will it pay for them," he wrote on Sunday night. "We are firmly defending the border against illegal migration, we have our own asylum policy (we do not accept applications), we deport those who break Polish law. On security issues, we will be relentless." 

Sweden-based political scientist Daniel Schatz told Fox News Digital, "Burning buildings and looted shops in France and other countries are becoming political ammunition across Europe… Leaders pushing tougher immigration policies have a blunt message for voters at home: ‘This is what we intend to prevent.’ Images of chaos can carry more political weight than a hundred policy speeches."

According to the latest available crime statistics from Eurostat, the European Union’s official statistical office, in 2024 France reported 304,900 police-recorded offenses, among the highest totals in the EU. Italy reported 142,600, while Poland with 57,300 and Hungary’s 28,600 were among the lowest totals in Europe. This as Eurostat’s 2023 "perception metric," or what percentage of people report crime or vandalism in their areas, showed France was again among the highest with about 20%, Italy reported 14-17%, Poland 7-8%, and Hungary at 6-7%.

FRENCH SCHOOL RIOTS DEEPEN AS EXPERTS POINT TO FAR-LEFT ALLIANCE FUELING ‘BROADER CONFRONTATION’

"In Central and Eastern European countries, the riots in France are linked to immigration and to the issue of non-adaptation and non-integration of immigrants," Boštjan Udovič, Chair of International Relations at the University of Ljubljana’s Faculty of Social Sciences in Slovenia, told Fox News Digital.

"Magyar and Tusk are delivering a blunt message to Brussels," Schatz added, "being pro-European does not mean signing up for liberal immigration policies… Magyar explicitly presents the French disorder as vindication of his migration policy. Tusk’s warning against repeating other countries’ mistakes reinforces a similar political message."

Magyar said last week’s European Council summit "made it clear that the overwhelming majority of European countries have woken up and want to break with the permissive policies of the past. We hope it is not too late.

"The Europe we all love is in serious trouble today," the Hungarian leader said. "It is our responsibility, too, to help preserve our continent as the most wonderful place in the world for our children and grandchildren… I express my full solidarity with the French people."

ITALY’S SCHOOL VEIL BAN EXPOSES EUROPE’S ASSIMILATION FIGHT AS EXPERT WARNS US COULD BE NEXT

Schatz said Magyar and Tusk "do not need to invoke Polish King Jan Sobieski’s leadership of the allied army that broke the Ottoman siege of Vienna in 1683 — a victory long celebrated as a defense of Christian Europe — to cast themselves as Europe’s protectors. Burning buildings provide a vivid contemporary backdrop for that message."

Udovič is not surprised by Magyar and Tusk’s positions, noting that Central and Eastern European countries "usually link their EU membership to their identity, based mostly on a single nation." This is part of their history, he says, and "it would be unrealistic to expect that countries that fought for their independence based on their national movement would adopt… a concept of a multiethnic society."

Schatz added, "This is ‘all politics is local’ playing out across borders. The streets are French or Italian; the voters being addressed are Hungarian or Polish." Udovič noted that Tusk is entering "a sort of pre-election campaign where migration will also be an issue."

MELONI CONDEMNS ‘GANGS OF THUGS’ AFTER PROTESTS TURNED VIOLENT ACROSS ITALY

Poland’s next parliamentary election is slated for Nov. 2027, and former Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, a possible Tusk opponent, is echoing his successor’s remarks. "France is burning, and we must be wise before the harm is done," Morawiecki posted to X Monday morning. He added that his new center-right political coalition, Rozwoj Plus, "has a package of comprehensive solutions that will allow Poland to be not only prosperous, but also the safest country in the world!" 

Meanwhile, "Strict immigration policies enjoy broad support in Hungary," former government official under the previous Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and current board member of the Hungarian Atlantic Council Á. Félix Debrenti told Fox News Digital. 

He said, "Magyar understands that abandoning Orbán’s tough approach to immigration and border protection could cost him significant political support, particularly at a time when his party is already facing growing pressures."

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He said, "Taking a strong position on immigration allows Magyar to shift public attention away from the government’s domestic challenges and onto an issue where there is a broad national consensus," Debrenti continues. "All this comes just days before Oct. 23… when Hungarians commemorate the 1956 Revolution and the fight for freedom against Soviet oppression."

Touching on the protests, Magyar posted: "Let there be no doubt: peaceful and lawful protest is one thing; vandalism and violence are quite another. The former is a fundamental right; the latter is a serious crime."

U.S. lawmakers are growing concerned with ongoing violence gripping the small NATO nation of Albania as police clashed with protesters in the capital Tirana.

The violence continued for a sixth straight day on Sunday as the lawmakers issued warnings on social media to Albanian authorities. 

"The Albanian people deserve freedom, rule of law, and institutional accountability. The government must refrain from all violence against protestors. Young people deserve a voice in the future of their country," Republican South Carolina Representative Joe Wilson posted on X. 

Rep. Robert Aderholt, R-Ala., posted on X that: "All parties must reject violence, and the government must respect the rights of peaceful protesters. Albania’s young people deserve a voice in shaping their nation’s future." Aderholt and Wilson were joined by Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, who stated on X: "The protests in Albania are a culmination of the people’s distrust of corrupt politicians and fatigue over the total disregard for the rule of law."

Police said 388 people had been charged with criminal offenses during the demonstrations, and an unspecified number of protesters and police have been injured, according to Reuters.

The U.S. Embassy in Albania called on all demonstrators to exercise their right to protest peacefully with no violent rioting, urging restraint and calm on all sides.

EUROPEAN CAPITAL ROCKED BY VIOLENT PROTESTS AS GOVERNMENT CORRUPTION PROBE FUELS UNREST

Tens of thousands have protested amid allegations of government corruption, inadequate education, unemployment and a lack of opportunity. The growing nationwide protest movement is driven by students and citizens also demanding accountability, an end to corruption and what they say is the restoration of democratic institutions and the rule of law.

The student-led demonstrations in Tirana, which have turned violent, have quickly spread to other parts of the country. Protesters have hurled rocks at police, burned government buildings, smashed shop windows and destroyed private property. They are demanding the resignation of Rama and have been met with a heavy-handed police presence, including rubber bullets, water cannons, and tear gas.

Prime Minister Edi Rama is portraying the demonstrations as a threat to Albania's European future, with the country on the unsteady path to European Union membership.

On Monday, Rama blamed outside forces for the violence, according to Reuters. "They are young men and women who have been ideologized and radicalized under the pressure or inspiration of that dark and new force that has emerged in Europe and the United States, which the President of the United States has designated a terrorist organization: ANTIFA."

In a post on Facebook translated by Reuters on Friday, Rama said, "These are also foreign hands that do not wish for Albania to be at peace; they do not want Albania to see clearly, to move forward, or to focus daily on addressing its own challenges for the sake of improvement. They do not want Albania to be part of the united European family — a place where it could finally, once and for all, escape these hands and the yoke of a forced choice."

FORMER ALBANIAN PRESIDENT ARRESTED ON CORRUPTION CHARGES, OPPOSITION CLAIMS CHARGES ARE POLITICALLY MOTIVATED

"Rama's attempt to equate the unrest in Albania with the protests taking place in France, Italy and elsewhere in Europe overlooks the specific political grievances driving Albania's demonstrations," Agim Nesho, former Albanian ambassador to the U.S. and the United Nations, told Fox News Digital.

Nesho said Albania's European future must not be confused with the political survival of Edi Rama or any government.

"European integration is supposed to reinforce democracy, judicial independence, transparent governance, and fundamental freedoms — not provide political protection from public accountability. Brussels has a responsibility to examine allegations of police abuses independently, uphold the rights of peaceful demonstrators, and take seriously the grievances behind this national movement," Nesho added.

The European Commission Directorate-General for Enlargement and Eastern Neighborhood condemned the violence gripping Albania.

"We condemn the use of violence in Tirana and other cities in Albania, including arson, attacks on State institutions and the destruction of public and private property. Violence has no place in a democratic society, and the response to it must remain within the law and proportionate," the Commission said.

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The Commission noted the important gains Albania has made toward EU membership, reminded Albanians that grievances should be handled through constructive dialogue and in a peaceful manner.

The turmoil in Albania comes as the country has long sought European Union membership, which began in 2014 when it became an official candidate for accession. While the 2025 annual European Commission report stated that Albania made significant strides in judicial reforms and combating organized crime, the continued allegations of corruption in the Rama government and the current violence taking place will complicate its path to EU membership.

Reuters contributed to this report.

As France's fiery student protests merged with a nationwide revolt on Saturday, a communist leader and academic, Vijay Prashad, celebrated the unrest with a message linking protests across three continents.

"Paris-New Delhi-Buenos Aires," Prashad posted on X, borrowing a line from the British punk band The Clash: "Let fury have the hour, anger can be power."

Prashad was important not only for what he said, but for who he is: executive director of Tricontinental Ltd., a nonprofit funded by an American-born Marxist tech tycoon, Neville Roy Singham, who lives in Shanghai.

The message captured how France's riots have become part of a wider international narrative of rebellion — a kind of "Chaos Inc." — amplified by a transnational network of communist and socialist organizations stretching from Europe to Asia, Australia, Africa and South America and North America.

FRANCE IS DEVOURING ITSELF AS SCHOOL RIOTS REVEAL A CRISIS FAR BIGGER THAN BROKEN CLASSROOMS

A Fox News Digital investigation has identified 54 organizations and movements in France's October student protests and their wider network of supporters and international amplifiers, including communist parties, revolutionary socialist groups, labor unions, environmental activists, Muslim student advocates, Palestinian-solidarity organizations and international media outlets.

Of the 54 organizations identified in the October protest ecosystem, 16 — or only about one in three — are student or youth organizations, including communist youth groups and a Muslim student association. The remaining 38 include adult-led communist groups, labor unions, political parties, revolutionary-left organizations, advocacy groups and international propaganda outlets.

They include Gilets jaunes, or "Yellow Vests," a radical far-left group that led protests with other groups this weekend, and far-left socialist political party La France Insoumise (LFI), or France Unbowed.

From the outset, far-left socialist and communist organizations helped organize and amplify France’s student revolt, using grievances over school conditions as a pretext to mobilize a broader political struggle against capitalism, government austerity, policing and military spending.

HOUSE PANEL WARNS SINGHAM-LINKED NONPROFITS: COMPLY WITH SUBPOENAS OR FACE CONGRESS

In a sign of unrest to come, France is inspiring an expansion of Chaos Inc.

Fox News Digital has learned an international coalition of 28 communist and socialist youth and organizations are galvanizing students and youth for a coordinated strike across 12 countries in Europe under the slogan "Fight for Our Future, Not Their Wars!" They are calling for walkouts, demonstrations, assemblies, blockades and occupations.

Among the international amplifiers for this mayhem are organizations within the Singham network, including Tricontinental, named for a communist convention in Havana, Cuba, in 1966, CodePink and BreakThrough News, a New York-based media outlet, which promoted coverage of the weekend's mayhem in France with the headline: "ANTI-MACRON PROTESTS ROCK FRANCE." 

It shared a montage of chaotic scenes from Montpellier, Paris, Marseille, Bordeaux, Strasbourg and Saint-Étienne, showing activists engulfed in smoke, Palestinian flags flapping above the crowds, black smoke billowing over flames and police hitting demonstrators with clubs. Its editors added a soundtrack of dramatic music. Its videos include politicians from the far-left socialist political party La France Insoumise (LFI).

In an interview with BreakThrough News, Jodie Evans, Singham's wife and co-founder of a far-left group he funded, CodePink, promoted a planned November campaign in Washington opposing U.S. military spending.

She explicitly invoked youth demonstrations abroad, including France, Spain and India, while urging Americans to participate in CodePink's campaign.

"I want people to look at France, Spain and India," Evans said, urging Americans to take to the streets.

Fox News Digital has prepared a "Who's Who Guide to Chaos Inc. in France," identifying the 54 organizations in the international network promoting the riots and protests in France, from direct organizing to participation, public solidarity and media amplification.

FRENCH SCHOOL RIOTS DEEPEN AS EXPERTS POINT TO FAR-LEFT ALLIANCE FUELING ‘BROADER CONFRONTATION’

WHO'S WHO IN FRANCE'S 'CHAOS INC.' NETWORK

STUDENT UNIONS AND YOUTH GROUPS (16)

COMMUNIST AND SOCIALIST STUDENT AND YOUTH GROUPS

1. Communist Youth of Greece — COMMUNIST: A Greek communist youth organization that has publicly supported French students, connecting their education demands to opposition to military spending and government austerity. It has also supported communist protesters in Madrid, Spain, and Greece.
2. La Jeunesse Communists — COMMUNIST: A group coordinating communist youth activism visible in the French demonstrations, including hammer-and-sickle flags and banners calling for "Class War!"
3. Le Poing Levé — The Raised Fist — REVOLUTIONARY COMMUNIST: A revolutionary student and youth organization associated with Révolution Permanente that works to connect high-school and university protests.
4. Union de la Jeunesse Communiste (UJC) — Communist Youth Union — COMMUNIST: A French communist youth organization that called on supporters to join and amplify the student struggle.

STUDENT AND YOUTH GROUPS

1. AFGES – Les étudiant·e·s d'Alsace — The Students of Alsace: A Strasbourg-based student federation affiliated with FAGE that posted about the early October mobilization while describing itself as politically independent. It coordinated protests in Strasbourg on Oct. 17 with an Instagram post that said, "MOBILISER," which means "MOBILIZE." Another post invited activists onto the streets with the message, "LE COMBAT CONTINUE," or "THE FIGHT CONTINUES."
2. Étudiants Musulmans de France (EMF) — Muslim Students of France: A Muslim student association involved in student representation and campus solidarity whose social-media activity appears in the protest research; its exact Oct. 17 role remains unconfirmed.
3. Fédération des associations générales étudiantes (FAGE) — Federation of General Student Associations: A national student federation that joined calls for student mobilization against the "extremely violent repression" of youth. It shared footage of its members marching on Oct. 17, with the hashtags #manifestation #genz #17octobre.
4. Fédération Syndicale Étudiante (FSE) — Student Trade Union Federation: A left-wing student organization whose activists appeared in demonstrations and announced "Democratic and Antifascist Vigilance Committees," linking high-school grievances to the treatment of anti-Israel activists and union members. On Saturday, it posted videos with its trademark solid red flags. One message read: "In Bordeaux, protesters invade the house of the mayor! On October 17, the whole country is on a standstill. Everyone is mobilizing for better living conditions, and against cutting the budget for public service! In Bordeaux, we hear echoing in the protest: Only one solution, the Revolution! The mobilization of the 17 continues: let's block everywhere in France!"
5. Interfac Île-de-France — Regional Student Coordination: A student coordination organization among Oct. 17 organizers involved in discussions over demonstration routes in Paris.
6. Les Lycéens! — The High School Students!: A high-school student organization active in the early school blockades.
7. Renouveau lycéen — High School Renewal: A high-school student organization identified in coverage of the October school mobilization.
8. Rassemblement pour l'égalité et la démocratie Jeunes — Youth for Equality and Democracy: A youth civic and political organization associated with organizing support for students in Seine-Saint-Denis; its specific Oct. 17 role has not been independently established.
9. Solidaires Étudiant·e·s — Solidaires Students: A left-wing student union that supported the high-school movement and helped connect university students with the October demonstrations.
10. Union Étudiante — Student Union: A national university student union that helped mobilize students for the Oct. 6 demonstrations and encouraged participation in the broader movement.
11. Union nationale des étudiants de France (UNEF) — National Union of Students of France: One of France's established student unions, it was among the organizers of the Oct. 6 nationwide demonstrations.
12. Union syndicale lycéenne (USL) — High School Students' Union: A French high-school student union that helped organize the initial school blockades and October demonstrations before publicly supporting students joining the Oct. 17 Yellow Vest mobilization.

COMMUNIST, MARXIST, TROTSKYIST AND REVOLUTIONARY-SOCIALIST ORGANIZATIONS (11)

1. International Communist League — TROTSKYIST: An international communist organization whose French publication Le Bolchévik called on labor unions to mobilize in support of the school protests.
2. Jeunesse du Monde — COMMUNIST PUBLICATION: A communist publication associated with the Organisation Communiste de France; separate organizational participation in the October 17 protests has not been established.
3. La France insoumise (LFI) — France Unbowed — LEFT-POPULIST / SOCIALIST: A political movement whose elected officials supported student blockades, including lawmaker Louis Boyard, who waved a Palestinian flag alongside students at Paris-Est-Créteil University.
4. Nouveau Parti anticapitaliste – L'Anticapitaliste (NPA) — New Anticapitalist Party — REVOLUTIONARY SOCIALIST: A revolutionary anti-capitalist party that urged continued mobilization after the Oct. 6 protests.
5. Organisation communiste révolutionnaire — REVOLUTIONARY COMMUNIST: A communist organization identified in the wider research whose precise legal identity and direct October protest activities require additional verification.
6. Parti communiste français (PCF) — French Communist Party — COMMUNIST: Party leader Fabien Roussel publicly supported student demonstrators in Paris alongside communist elected officials and activists as demonstrators carried party flags.
7. Parti des Indigènes de la République (PIR) — Party of the Indigenous of the Republic — DECOLONIAL POLITICAL MOVEMENT: A political organization that defended the student revolt and circulated imagery of protesters outside Lycée Paul Éluard holding a Palestinian flag.
8. Parti de l'égalité socialiste — Socialist Equality Party — TROTSKYIST: A French socialist organization that called for workers' action committees and broader mobilization in support of the student movement.
9. Revolutionary Communist Group — COMMUNIST: A British revolutionary communist organization that published an article connecting the French student revolt to opposition to capitalism, imperialism and support for Palestine.
10. Révolution Permanente — Permanent Revolution — TROTSKYIST: A revolutionary socialist organization and publication that reported on university blockades and encouraged solidarity between high-school and university students.
11. World Socialist Web Site — TROTSKYIST MEDIA: An international socialist publication that covered the French school blockades and placed them within a broader argument about austerity, militarization and capitalism.

MUSLIM STUDENT AND PRO-PALESTINE ORGANIZATIONS (2)

1. Union juive française pour la paix (UJFP) — French Jewish Union for Peace: A Jewish peace and Palestine-solidarity organization that publicized "support for high school students" who joined protests in early October.
2. Urgence Palestine — Palestine Emergency: A French Palestine-solidarity organization whose protest-related social-media activity appears in the research, although direct organization of the October 17 demonstrations is not established.

LABOR UNIONS, TEACHERS' FEDERATIONS AND FARMERS (12)

1. CGT Éduc'action — CGT Education: The education-sector organization of the General Confederation of Labour that joined union mobilization calls.
2. CFDT Éducation Formation Recherche Publiques — CFDT Public Education, Training and Research: A public education and research union that joined education-sector statements supporting the school movement.
3. Confédération générale du travail (CGT) — General Confederation of Labour: One of France's major national labor confederations that supported the October school mobilizations and joined the Oct. 17 cost-of-living protests.
4. Confédération nationale du travail (CNT) — National Confederation of Labour — ANARCHO-SYNDICALIST TRADITION: A revolutionary-syndicalist labor organization that endorsed the student movement, declaring that students were right to revolt.
5. Confédération paysanne — Peasant Confederation: A farmers' union that called on agricultural workers to join Oct. 17 protests, linking rural economic grievances with the national mobilization.
6. Fédération syndicale unitaire (FSU) — Unitary Trade Union Federation: A major education and public-sector union federation that supported the school mobilization.
7. FNEC FP-FO — National Federation of Education, Culture and Vocational Training–Workers' Force: Force Ouvrière's education federation, which joined calls supporting high-school demonstrations.
8. Force Ouvrière (FO) — Workers' Force: A national labor confederation whose education affiliates joined calls supporting high-school students.
9. SUD éducation — SUD Education: A left-wing education union that joined mobilization calls involving students and education workers.
10. Syndicat national des enseignements de second degré (SNES-FSU) — National Union of Secondary Education: A major secondary-school personnel union that supported strikes and demonstrations in solidarity with students.
11. Union syndicale Solidaires — Solidaires Trade Union: A left-wing labor federation whose regional branches promoted Oct. 17 demonstrations and strikes after earlier student solidarity mobilizations.
12. Union nationale des syndicats autonomes (UNSA) — National Union of Autonomous Trade Unions: A national trade-union federation whose education organizations supported the school movement.

HUMAN-RIGHTS, PARENTS', ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECONOMIC-JUSTICE ORGANIZATIONS (11)

1. Amnesty International France: The French section of Amnesty International that reported on police treatment of minors during the school protests.
2. ATTAC France — Association for the Taxation of Financial Transactions and Citizen Action: An economic-justice organization that linked protest grievances with opposition to austerity and restrictions on civil liberties.
3. Coordination nationale du mouvement du 26 septembre — September 26 Movement Coordination: A climate-mobilization network that encouraged participation in Oct. 17 protests and connected environmental concerns with household economic pressures.
4. Extinction Rebellion: An international environmental activist movement whose imagery appeared in photographic coverage of the French demonstrations.
5. Fédération des conseils de parents d'élèves (FCPE) — Federation of Parents' Councils: A national parents' federation that called on members to demonstrate and announced participation by its national board in Paris.
6. Gilets jaunes — Yellow Vests: A radical far-left French protest group revived around fuel prices and the cost of living whose Oct. 17 demonstrations converged with the student mobilization.
7. Intersyndicale nationale VTC — National Private-Hire Drivers' Union Coalition: A professional drivers' coalition that promoted participation in the Oct. 17 mobilization, including a gathering at Place de la Bastille.
8. Les Soulèvements de la Terre — Earth Uprisings: A radical environmental movement that celebrated the student revolt and called for an antifascist uprising.
9. Ligue des droits de l'Homme (LDH) — Human Rights League: A French civil-liberties organization that publicized support for students and criticism of police repression.
10. Mouvement contre le racisme et pour l'amitié entre les peuples (MRAP) — Movement Against Racism and for Friendship Between Peoples: An antiracism organization identified in earlier coalition activity around the student demonstrations.
11. SOS Racisme — SOS Racism: A French antiracism organization included in coalition activity supporting the school movement.

INTERNATIONAL AMPLIFIERS AND ADDITIONAL OCT. 17 ORGANIZERS (2)

1. BreakThrough News — COMMUNIST SINGHAM NETWORK: A New York-based outlet that reported on French student demonstrations and previewed their participation in the October 17 cost-of-living mobilization.
2. Indian Alliance Paris — COMMUNIST SINGHAM NETWORK: A France-based Indian diaspora organization that connected French and Indian youth protests through its social-media messaging. It has partnered with the SIngham network's People's Forum for an event.

THE NEXT MOBILIZATION: NOV. 20 EUROPEAN YOUTH STRIKE

1. Counterfire — United Kingdom — REVOLUTIONARY SOCIALIST / ANTI-WAR: A British socialist organization that advertised the Nov. 20 strike and connected opposition to war with campaigns involving universities and Palestine.
2. International Socialist Alternative — REVOLUTIONARY SOCIALIST: An international socialist organization that endorsed the Nov. 20 action and connected opposition to militarization with criticism of capitalism.
3. International Youth Strike coalition: The international organizing coalition announced plans in August for coordinated Nov. 20 student walkouts and demonstrations across Europe under the slogan "Fight for Our Future, Not Their Wars!"
4. Socialist Party — United Kingdom — TROTSKYIST: A British socialist party whose October commentary linked France's student revolt with wider European mobilization and the forthcoming strike.
5. Socialist Students — United Kingdom — SOCIALIST: A British socialist student organization that promoted the Nov. 20 strike and sought to connect student opposition to military spending with wider socialist campaigns.
6. Stop the War Coalition — United Kingdom — ANTI-WAR: A British anti-war organization that promoted the youth strike and encouraged demonstrations opposing military spending.

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A prominent French newspaper delivered a blistering critique of the country’s leadership after nationwide protests descended into riots, looting and arson.

The article, written by Vincent Trémolet de Villers for the conservative newspaper Le Figaro and published Sunday afternoon local time, blamed years of political failures for contributing to the unrest and took particular aim at President Emmanuel Macron.

It criticized what it described as a justice system that is "lenient toward criminals," accused far-left groups of carrying out violence with little consequence and took aim at France’s immigration and security policies.

"A judiciary that is lenient toward criminals but unrelenting toward decent citizens. The incomprehensible privilege of these far-left militias, who destroy, set fires, and kill with impunity," the article stated, according to a translation.

"An uncontrolled immigration, in which a portion of the immigrants rebels against the country that took them in."

WHERE'S MACRON? FRENCH LEADER BLASTED FOR ATTENDING CONCERT AS RIOTS ESCALATED

The article also took aim at Macron over his past calls for police to show greater empathy.

"Emmanuel Macron’s reprimands toward a police force he deemed insufficiently 'empathetic' — directed at officers under attack by bolts, cobblestones, and mortar fireworks — will remain an indelible stain," it stated.

The author argued that the unrest reflected deeper failures by France’s political establishment.

"If the far-left, criminals, and looters can turn France upside down in a matter of hours, it is primarily because a technocratic monarchy — intoxicated by its own self-importance — has methodically dismantled all the moral, security, cultural, and economic safeguards that allow a society to remain standing."

The scathing assessment followed a day of violence across France, where masked groups clashed with police, looted businesses, set fires and attacked public buildings, according to The Associated Press.

Macron addressed the nation Sunday, condemning the violence and vowing that those responsible would be held accountable.

PHOTOS SHOW AFTERMATH OF RIOTS AS MASKED GROUPS CLASH WITH POLICE ACROSS FRANCE

"Nothing will excuse their actions. We all tonight feel angry. We feel shame as well," Macron said, according to a translation of his televised remarks.

"There needs to be a response. Those people who looted need to pay for their crimes," he added.

The French president also acknowledged concerns raised by the youth about their economic prospects and futures.

"The youth of our nation are expressing great anguish and concern about the future, the conditions of where their careers will take them, what role they will be able to play in society," Macron said. "… I hear what they are saying, for the past ten years I've been fighting for them, so we need to pay heed to what they are saying."

Macron said he ordered officials to increase security around public buildings and businesses, with protests potentially restricted in some areas.

At least 2,400 people were arrested nationwide, including 855 in the Paris region, according to the AP.

More than 500 police officers, gendarmes and firefighters were injured, the AP reported, citing Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez.

LIMOGES TOWN HALL 'LARGELY LOST' AFTER FAR-LEFT RIOTERS SET HISTORIC BUILDING ON FIRE AMID FRENCH UNREST

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Authorities estimated roughly 550,000 people took part in Saturday's demonstrations, while organizers put turnout at 800,000, according to the AP. 

Hundreds of businesses were looted nationwide, and unrest continued Sunday in Paris, where police used tear gas as tensions flared around Place de la République.

The criticism also comes as Macron faces scrutiny over his decision to attend a Celine Dion concert with his wife, Brigitte, on Friday night, on the eve of the nationwide demonstrations.

The protests, fueled in part by anger over rising living costs, school conditions and public services, erupted into violence Saturday.

Macron's office and Le Figaro could not immediately be reached by Fox News Digital for comment.

Fox News Digital's Bradford Betz and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Italy, like France, witnessed a day of protests on Saturday — several turning violent — as some Italian politicians blamed the extreme left for the lawlessness. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni took to social media to condemn the unrest and back law enforcement.

Meloni wrote on X: "Once again, the women and men of the Law Enforcement Forces have had to face the violence of criminals who, even through organized groups, exploit demonstrations to seek confrontation and sow chaos," she posted.

She added, "Because they were there to safeguard the safety of citizens, workers, merchants and all the people who have the right to live [in] their city without fear and without seeing it laid to waste and set ablaze by gangs of thugs," she continued. "We stand with you."

VIOLENCE ERUPTS AT FRANCE PROTESTS AS MACRON WARNS UNREST IS BEING EXPLOITED

Her Sunday morning post came after scenes of violence between protesters and police, the most visible being outside Milan’s historic Cathedral, known as the Piazza del Duomo.

The Associated Press reported 50 demonstrators, including minors, were detained and at least two police officers were hurt in a protest that required water cannons to disperse the crowd, quoting the LaPresse news agency. Rioters looted stores and smashed windows inside Milan’s Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, one of Italy’s most famous 19th‑century arcades.

Meloni had already laid blame for the protests on Saturday night, posting: "Thugs who exploit demonstrations to sow chaos, attack those who ensure security and hold entire cities hostage… Demonstrating is a right. Setting our cities ablaze is not."

She added a message to her political opponents: "I renew my request to the opposition: do not be ambiguous about this. Unequivocally condemn these acts of violence and issue a clear appeal for every mobilization to be peaceful."

LIMOGES TOWN HALL 'LARGELY LOST' AFTER FAR-LEFT RIOTERS SET HISTORIC BUILDING ON FIRE AMID FRENCH UNREST

Il Sole 24 news site quoted Francesco Filini, MP for Meloni's Fratelli d’Italia and national program coordinator, as saying: "It is no longer tolerable that every time left-wing extremists take to the streets, scenes of organized destruction unfold. We are not dealing with mere demonstrators, but with organized groups that plan violence."

Saturday's demonstrations were organized by the Confederazione Generale Italiana del Lavoro, or CGIL, Italy’s oldest labor union with over 5 million members, often connected to Italian political parties on the left.

Meloni posted she had "great respect for the thousands" who protested peacefully and calling participation "the foundation of any healthy democracy… we cannot ignore what happened in other Italian squares."

She noted that in Milan "stones were thrown at the Law Enforcement Forces, officers were injured, damage and violence occurred that forced the interruption of the procession. In Turin, people were stopped carrying cobblestones and window-breaking hammers. In Bologna, the disorders led to the precautionary closure of the railway station."

"In the face of scenes like these, the rejection must be unanimous," Meloni posted. "Any hesitation becomes justification. Silence is not acceptable."

ITALY ROCKED BY ANARCHIST-LED RIOTS AS OVER 100 POLICE INJURED, MELONI CONDEMNS VIOLENCE

Milan’s center-left mayor, Giuseppe Sala, told the Associated Press, "The reasons for the protests were understandable. The violence against law enforcement and serious damage to the city are not justifiable."

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Reuters reported some 56 police officers were injured in the protest in Bologna, citing the police union, and the interior ministry says about 100 officers were hurt and around 30 arrests were made in the demonstration in Turin.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A historic building in the French town of Limoges, about three hours south of Paris, has been "largely lost" after it was set on fire by rioters as demonstrations continue across France.

The Limoges Town Hall was built in 1883, and was made a historic landmark in 1975.

"The roof has collapsed onto lower floors, except the west wing, and two-thirds of the exterior has already disappeared," the local prefect, Maurice Barate, told the AFP news agency.

MASSIVE FIRE DESTROYS 400-YEAR-OLD FOOD MARKET, LEAVING HISTORIC LANDMARK IN RUINS

Barate called it "a deliberate act by hooligans," adding that it was a "catastrophe for heritage." 

The destruction came as far-left anti-government protests and violent clashes entered their fourth week in the European country over the cost of living.

On Saturday, outgoing President Emmanuel Macron wrote on social media: "There is no place for violence in our republic."

FRANCE EXPLODES AGAIN AS STUDENTS RIOT OVER EDUCATION

"Those who have broken, attacked the prefectures as well as businesses, looted even our town halls, will be prosecuted and punished," he added translated from French. "To the law enforcement forces, guarantors of the right to demonstrate, I express the support of the Nation. We will all stand united against the sowers of chaos, who seek only to bring down our institutions and prevent those who peacefully express their demands from doing so."

Macron leaves office in six months.

GRETA THUNBERG JOINS MASSIVE FRENCH STUDENT PROTESTS AS CARS BURN, POLICE FIRE TEAR GAS

Around 400 people were arrested on Saturday, according to Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez, as more than a half million people took part in more than 100 marches across the country.

Masked groups also attempted to break into city halls in Lille and Calais and a police station in Brest, the interior minister reported, along with violence in Rennes, Toulouse, Montpellier and Grenoble, among other cities.

BEHIND FRANCE'S STUDENT RIOTS: COMMUNISTS, UNIONS AND A GLOBAL PROPAGANDA NETWORK

Nuñez blamed the unrest on "extremely violent, radical far-left groups."

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While many of the protests were without violence, many have descended into riots. Police used tear gas and water cannons on Saturday to disperse violent groups in Paris, where people wearing hoods and masks threw fireworks and other objects at officers in the Place de la République.

Violent clashes broke out across France Saturday as demonstrations entered a fourth week. 

Earlier in the week, President Emmanuel Macron made some of his most direct comments yet on the protests as he enters his final six months in office.

In his weekly cabinet meeting, Macron "stressed that young people have legitimate concerns," government spokeswoman Maud Bregeon told the AFP, "but these are being exploited for political purposes and turned into urban violence." 

Bregeon added that Macron called on his ministers to come up with "concrete responses" to the unrest within weeks.

FRANCE EXPLODES AGAIN AS STUDENTS RIOT OVER EDUCATION

This comes as a national day of protest over rising costs of living and additional student grievances led to violence in Paris and other major cities today. 

While many of the protests were without violence, many have descended into violent riots. Police used tear gas and water cannons Saturday to disperse violent groups in the capital, where people wearing hoods and masks threw fireworks and other objects at officers in the Place de la République. 

The interior ministry reported assaults on police, looting and damage to public buildings, saying there have been at least 272 arrests nationwide.

French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu took a more direct approach than Macron, saying the student movement has been "instrumentalized by the allies of France Unbowed (LFI) ... for electoral reasons." 

The far-left LFI’s presidential candidate, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, even participated in one of the Paris protests this week, while LFI councilors, deputies and mayors have joined student blockades in multiple cities.

Elections to replace the term-limited Macron are set for April and May, and opposition parties have seized upon the ongoing unrest. Leading candidate Marine Le Pen of the conservative National Rally party has voiced support for the police, blaming students for any violence.

"Macron is right that students can have legitimate grievances and that political forces are exploiting them. What is missing from that diagnosis is the state’s own responsibility for the loss of authority that makes this exploitation possible," Simone Rodan-Benzaquen, senior envoy to Europe at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital. 

"Macron cannot speak about this simply as an observer. He has to answer for the institutions he leads," she added. "His challenge is to show that democracy can both solve problems and defend itself. Otherwise, the far left profits by calling the state oppressive, and the far right profits by calling it powerless."

BEHIND FRANCE'S STUDENT RIOTS: COMMUNISTS, UNIONS AND A GLOBAL PROPAGANDA NETWORK

Meanwhile, students, unions, rights groups and parents have accused the police of using excessive force against the students.

According to the AFP, the interior ministry has opened internal investigations into 36 allegations of police officer violence against demonstrators. But the national police union, Alliance Police Nationale, says it has filed a lawsuit against the government for "putting lives in danger" over what it called "contradictory orders" given to officers deployed in the protests.

The Alliance says officers felt "betrayed, abandoned, left to fend for themselves" by their political leaders because of their "unclear instructions" and what they said were public expressions of "empathy towards the rioters."

"This is the country of the French Revolution. Everyone boasts about it," police officer and union representative Walid Hrar told The Associated Press. "Some political parties don’t hesitate to say that we need to disobey the law. That’s what Robespierre and other revolutionaries taught us in 1789.

FRANCE IS DEVOURING ITSELF AS SCHOOL RIOTS REVEAL A CRISIS FAR BIGGER THAN BROKEN CLASSROOMS

"France always tends to react rather than anticipate," he added. "In other words, we’re always going to extremes."

On the sidelines of Friday’s European Council summit in Brussels, Macron again called for calm, saying, "There is a constitutional right to protest and to express oneself. But this right comes with the need to respect. Respect for people, respect for property and, therefore, a commitment not to insult or destroy."

Lecornu told Parliament that 937 police officers and 149 teachers and school staff have been injured since the protests began, while the French justice ministry reports that nearly 8,000 people have been arrested.

Protests have also spread to neighboring Belgium. 

Several hundred mostly young people protested in Brussels Saturday, according to Reuters, clashing with police in protests at least partly inspired by what is going on in France. 

A similar protest occurred in the French-speaking city of Liege. Student groups say they are protesting rising education costs and reforms they say will make higher education less accessible.

Belgian Interior Minister Bernard Quintin posted on X that what is happening in his country "is no longer mere protest! It is pure and simple violence, organized and repeated to destabilize our society… All necessary means will be used to restore order in the face of the rioters."

Small solidarity events have also taken place in neighboring Luxembourg and the French-speaking parts of Switzerland, but they have been peaceful with no arrests reported. Student protests also occurred in India this week over education issues there, but they do not appear to be linked to the protests in France.

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French authorities have expressed hope the protest movement will ease in coming days as schools nationwide are closed until Nov. 2 due to the Toussain, or All Saints’, holiday.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.