French riots fuel false claims about immigrants in Latvia

Most people identified in connection with unrest in France were young French citizens, not immigrants, according to figures cited by LSM’s report on false claims about the protests. The report was produced by Re:Check, a fact-checking project run by Re:Baltica.

Protests began in several French cities in September, when pupils and students raised concerns about shortages of staff and other resources in educational institutions. The demonstrations later grew into a broader movement against the cost of living and what protesters saw as government inaction. Clashes with police had taken place before unrest peaked on the night of October 18, when some participants set buildings on fire and looted and vandalised shops.

Conservative politicians and commentators in France blamed immigration, as did US President Donald Trump, who said migrants, jihadists and communists had conquered and looted the country. French President Emmanuel Macron dismissed such remarks as nonsense, saying foreign information manipulation had prompted unacceptable and absurd comments from several people, including foreign leaders.

About 2,400 people were detained. France’s Justice Ministry described two broad groups: organised far-left activists and people who tried to loot shops under cover of the chaos. The ministry provided more detailed information on fewer than 200 people. Most were under 25, and 70% were French citizens, almost all of whom were born in France. The origins of those accused of vandalism, or of their parents, are not known because such data is not collected.

In Latvia, Riga Deputy Mayor Edvards Ratnieks of the National Alliance and Latvia First leader Ainārs Šlesers were among those who blamed immigrants for the unrest. Šlesers referred to illegal immigration. The available figures do not support the claim that most of those detained in France were immigrants.