Violent student demonstrations in France have prompted renewed criticism of open-border immigration policies, with some U.S. commentators presenting the unrest as a warning for America.
“As we sit here in beautiful New York City, I would call this a cautionary tale,” Tomi Lahren, co-host of “The Big Weekend Show,” said Saturday.
Lahren argued that the turmoil offered lessons from Europe, saying countries that embraced open borders and promoted diversity as a source of strength were now facing the consequences. She also pointed to former President Joe Biden’s four years in office, saying the U.S. is now reversing similar policies.
Policemen stand in front of burning garbage as they face students during a protest against under-resourced schools in Paris on Friday. (Aurelien Morissard/AP Photo)
“When you let so many people come into your country and take advantage of the system, the people who are from there will eventually become upset,” Lahren said.
She acknowledged that anger can be misdirected and condemned the destruction caused by protesters. Still, she argued that countries presenting themselves as a home for everyone ultimately bear the cost, with native citizens often suffering the greatest impact.
The protests began late last month, as students in Paris objected to overcrowded classrooms, teacher shortages, extended school days and worsening conditions. Demonstrators blamed the French government for failing to provide sufficient funding for education.
A student kicks a tear gas canister during a protest against under-resourced schools in Paris on Friday. (Aurelien Morissard/AP Photo)
Initially peaceful demonstrations in poorer Paris suburbs soon reached the capital and spread across France, including Marseille, Strasbourg, Tours, Nantes, Toulouse and Lille. As the movement expanded, confrontations became increasingly violent.
Anger also intensified after the government unveiled its 2027 budget Thursday. The plan calls for education spending to increase by just 1.7%, excluding teacher pensions—an amount below the inflation rate, according to Reuters.
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Authorities say rioters have set fires, damaged property, hurled objects at police and assaulted people in some instances. Police have used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse crowds.
Students block the entrance of Voltaire high school in Paris as they protest against under-resourced schools on Friday. (Aurelien Morissard/AP Photo)
More than 5,000 people were arrested nationwide this week, Reuters reported, while over 400 schools were still closed as of Friday.
At least 65 education workers—including 40 school principals—and about 170 students have been injured since the unrest began, Euronews reported Friday.
More than 100 high schools sustained what Education Minister Édouard Geffray called “severe damage.”
French intelligence officials told a government crisis meeting Thursday that politicians affiliated with the hard-left France Unbowed party, or LFI, had helped launch the protest movement, Reuters reported Friday.
Anti-riot police officers face protesting students carrying out blockading action outside the secondary school Le Corbusier, in Aubervilliers, northern Paris on Friday. (Lou Benoist / AFP via Getty Images)
LFI rejected the accusation, claiming President Emmanuel Macron’s government was politicizing the demonstrations ahead of France’s 2027 presidential election.
Simone Rodan-Benzaquen, the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ senior envoy to Europe, told News Media on Thursday that the unrest began with legitimate complaints but has since escalated into a much broader crisis.
“The students’ concerns about missing teachers and deteriorating schools were initially genuine,” Rodan-Benzaquen said. “But dousing a principal with gasoline and attacking firefighters are acts of extreme violence. The political significance lies in the attempt to transform frustration over schools into a much wider confrontation with the government.”