
Debt,
disorder and open borders: a midterm consideration across the Atlantic
As
riots and a historic debt crisis both grip France, critics warn that the
Democratic Party’s progressive wing is pushing the U.S. toward the same mix of
runaway spending, loose borders and street disorder. Social media and some news
outlets have widely shared videos of the purported students rioting while
waving and wearing Palestinian flags.
By
Amanda Head justthenews.com
10-26-26
As
France reels from its worst riots in years, Americans heading to the polls next
week might be taking a hard look at what’s happening across the Atlantic.
What
began as student protests over school conditions has turned into burned city
halls, looted storefronts, and a government struggling to pay its bills, and
some say it's a lesson for the US.
"We
will end up like France if our immigration policies continue and if the liberal
[economic] policies continue. France has chosen to let these people in,"
Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla., told Just the News.
Fine
continued, "The French problem is not an illegal immigration problem; it
is a legal immigration problem coupled with the radical views of people like AOC
and [Abdul] Mohammed El-Sayed, we've got to stop it."
Warnings sounding off
The
French riots have prompted
warnings about the immigration stances of high-profile Democratic
socialists ahead of the 2026 midterms.
Speaking
to Fox Digital, 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 nominee Abdul El-Sayed,
arguing that their approaches to immigration enforcement could move the United
States closer to conditions he associates with France's crisis.
Speaker
of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., said
on X that "France is descending into chaos because they wanted OPEN
BORDERS — just like the socialist Democrats in America. What we are witnessing
is a chilling warning for all Americans of what happens if the radical Marxist
insurgent left gets their way. America is not merely in a battle of political
ideologies — it’s a battle for the preservation of our civilization, our
freedoms, and our way of life."
If
the most progressive wing of the Democratic Party gains real power in November,
the argument goes, the U.S. could start down the same road. Here’s how France
got there:
Protests over schools
transformed in riots by extreme left, pro-Palestinian agitators
The
unrest reportedly began with students protesting conditions in France's education
system before labor unions, political activists and groups with separate
grievances joined the movement.
On
Oct. 17, some 550,000
protesters took to the streets, according to CNN, and largely peaceful
marches descended into rioting that left government buildings torched and one
police officer and one protester dead. 1,200 people were arrested and 150
police were hurt.
Who
did the damage is disputed. President Emmanuel Macron blamed
insurrectionist elements from radical far-left groups, joined by numerous criminals.
A French security source described the alliance between the ultra-left, the
radical far left and young people from disadvantaged neighborhoods as
unprecedented.
Many
of those neighborhoods have large immigrant-descended populations. That fact is
the basis for arguments from President Trump, who blamed immigrants "from
an entirely different world," and Vice President J.D. Vance. French
commentator Éric Zemmour pinned
much of the looting on suburban youths of African and North African
origin.
Jewish
news and commentary outlet The
Algemeiner published a column on Monday saying that "It is
not a coincidence that the protests turned quickly to violence – a vast international
network of pro-Palestinian organizations, including those linked to
terrorist organizations, fueled the initial unrest in France on Oct. 17.
Urgence Palestine, an organization established in the wake of Oct. 7, was
proudly at the protests carrying Palestinian flags, while a branch of the
Association France Palestine Solidarité announced its support for the protests,
highlighting the signs associated with the pro-Palestinian movement."
Social
media and some news outlets have widely shared videos of the purported students
rioting while waving and
wearing Palestinian flags.
A
week later, some 70,000 officers were deployed and at least 400,000 people
protested, largely peacefully.
Fiscal crisis another
aggravating factor
The
riots are erupting on top of a debt problem years in the making. At the end of
June, France's public debt stood at 3.596 trillion euros ($4.08 trillion),
equivalent to 119% of GDP. The eurozone average is 88.9%. France expects a
deficit of 5.4% of GDP in 2026 and targets 5% in 2027.
Moody’s
doubts even that, projecting
the deficit will only fall to 5.2% due to weaker growth and the political
difficulty of real spending cuts. Fortune
cited Moody's report saying “The 2027 budget process coincides with
some of the most extensive social protests France has experienced in many
years.”
Markets
have noticed. Reuters
reported that Moody's spared France a credit rating downgrade on Friday,
easing pressure on a government struggling to contain social unrest and shore
up its strained finances. Bond yields have hit their highest levels in 24
years, and French borrowing costs already
exceed those of lower-rated Italy. Moody's held France's Aa3 rating on
October 23 but kept a negative outlook, and warned the unrest could constrain
efforts to cut the deficit.
An
Aa3 rating from Moody's is the fourth-highest long-term credit rating on the
agency's 21-grade scale. It falls within the top tier known as "Investment
Grade."
The
discomfort in the situation is that protesters are demanding more public
spending from a state that can’t afford what it already spends. Mike Bell, head
of market strategy at RBC
BlueBay, warned that all three major agencies could slash France's bonds to
a BBB rating, just above junk, after next year's presidential vote.
Amanda Head is White House Correspondent for Just the
News. You can follow her here.