High school students and many teachers and staff members a week ago began protesting in the streets of Paris because of overcrowded classrooms, teacher shortages, long school days and deteriorating conditions, reports Fox News. The protesters blame President Emmanuel Macron’s (shown right) government for investing too little in education, with the 2027 government budget revealing only a 1.7% increase that is below inflation rate.
Protesting then turned to rioting, with perpetrators committing arson, vandalism and assault which prompted police response. So far, 5,000 protestors have been arrested, 65 school staff members and 170 students have been injured, 400 schools have been closed, and 100 schools have been severely damaged.
Protesters have numbered in the ten thousands at various demonstrations, Fox News reported.
The French Interior Ministry said Tuesday that protesters around the country number an estimated 250,000.
French authorities and political opponents of the left-wing La France Insoumise party have accused it of exploiting or helping organize the protests, allegations the party denies.
Others, including U.S. President Donald Trump, see unchecked immigration policies coming home to roost.
"What’s happening in France is nothing less than out of control mass migration. This isn’t about schools, this is about Islam wanting to take over a once great Country!" he wrote on Truth Social Tuesday.
The sentiment is echoed by Auron MacIntyre, a Blaze Media host, a recent guest on American Family Radio (AFR)’s “Jenna Ellis in the Morning.” He says France has been building up tension inside the country for a long time, especially because of their large migrant population.
“France has a very interesting approach in that they have basically done the civic nationalism thing, where they said any of these people can become Frenchmen. They're trying to integrate everybody in there,” MacIntyre states.
Islam on the rise
According to Insee, immigrants made up 11.6% of France’s total population in 2025, with 33% of them having obtained French citizenship. The Middle East Forum says that Islam has become the second-largest religion in France, with the adult Muslim population at 7% in 2025.
Law comes from belief, MacIntyre says, which is why it might seem natural for some and awkward for others. Muslims follow Sharia law, which is both religious and a legal framework for Islam.
A survey reveals 57% of Muslims between the ages of 15 and 24 believe that Sharia law is above French laws.
French efforts to bring about peace, such as banning all religious symbols, even Muslim and Christian, have been ineffective.
“Now you’re seeing these riots go far beyond any kind of socioeconomic issue and bleed into issues of identity and immigration and migration. It's very clear that France does not have a good answer to this question,” MacIntyre states. “Even though France has in many ways tried to secularize these people, ban public displays of religion, that kind of thing, it hasn't worked. Because when you get enough Muslims in your population, they will impose that worldview. It will manifest itself no matter what you've banned.”
France's youth have become increasingly more foreign, he states because the French are having fewer children, resulting in a decreasing birth rate. That’s not the trend for Muslims who are immigrating to the country.
“You're going to see that kind of tension build up between the young and the older populations because in many cases the young people don't have the same culture. They don't feel a duty to the older generation because it's not their generation that they're connected to,” MacIntyre says.
It’s hard to tell whether this will lead to a civil war in the European country, he says, pointing to previous conflicts that have subsided.
Spiritual roots are important
To their credit, he thinks the French have a stronger national identity, in some ways, than America does. But they don’t have an animating spiritual issue.
America has an advantage because of their unifying faith, MacIntyre says. Because France has steered away from their Catholic roots, they have this lack of undergirding faith that could rescue them from invading faiths.
“If you don't have a true animating faith, you don't have something like a faith in Christ to push back against these other ancient and very real active faiths of the world like Islam, you will have a problem,” MacIntyre says. “That's something that people need to remember in the United States.”
He likens much of what is happening in France — with the increase of immigrant Muslims — to happening in the U.S., especially in the increase of the youth population.
