Trump says Europe unrest is 'immigration problem,' claims he warned Macron Paris would become 'Muslim city'

US President Donald Trump said Monday that student protests in France — sparked by poor conditions in schools — spreading across Europe were "not a school problem" but "an immigration problem," repeating a claim he has made as unrest has intensified across the continent.

Speaking to reporters at the White House that day, Trump said authorities had allowed in "people who don't love their country, don't love the buildings, don't love the art."

Trump also said he had warned French President Emmanuel Macron when they first met that France was making "a big mistake" by letting in "people from all over the world." "Paris will very soon be a Muslim city," Trump said he told Macron, adding that he urged him to "close the borders — otherwise you're going to destroy your country."

Trump said France had already done just that. "They've destroyed their country. It'll be hard to come back, but I hope France comes back," he said.

Trump said he had urged not only Macron but also Russian President Vladimir Putin and other European leaders to seal their borders, adding: "You know who agreed with me? Some leaders that you don't like."

"Look at what's happening in Italy and France — it's related to immigration, and I told them this would happen," he said. "It's like a boiler about to explode."

Trump has consistently pointed to immigration as the root cause of the anti-government protests roiling France and other parts of Europe, calling for tighter border controls as the demonstrations have grown more violent.

Earlier, as protests in France escalated into arson, looting and attacks on police over the weekend, Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday that "France is burning" and that immigrants "from a totally different world, with hate in their hearts, have torn apart a country that was once great." He had made a similar claim on Oct. 6, writing on Truth Social that the unrest stemmed from "massive, out-of-control immigration" and what he called an attempt by "Islam to take over a country that was once great."