As France grapples with unrest, Trump says 'they're not going to destroy our country'

At least 44 protesters were arrested in a French overseas territory in the Caribbean over the weekend after a group assaulted police officers securing areas near demonstrations.

The incident occurred in Guadeloupe, where “police faced several attempts to set up barricades and were pelted with projectiles,” the national police said in a post on X on Wednesday.

More than half of those arrested were minors, authorities said.

Police said the arrests were among hundreds of people taken into custody, with several convictions already handed down.

In Nantes, on mainland France, 74 protesters were detained over alleged clashes, violence and looting of businesses, according to the authorities.

In Bordeaux, also on the mainland, a group entered and vandalized a residential area, where “a container was set on fire in the courtyard, windows were smashed, ground-floor rooms were spray-painted, and furniture was destroyed.”

One suspect was arrested and quickly sentenced to six months in prison, police said.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday said the U.S. would never experience the unrest sweeping France, arguing that his administration’s rollback of progressive policies, including diversity initiatives, would prevent similar turmoil.

Trump made the remarks during a rally in Clemson, South Carolina, where he campaigned for Republican U.S. Senate candidate Darline Graham. 

After a heckler attempted to interrupt the rally, Trump likened the disruption to the unrest in France.

“Now, what the hell happened to France?” Trump said.

“This is what they want to see for our country. We're not going to let that happen to our country,” he added, referring to the heckler. 

Trump then touted his administration’s actions on DEI, transgender and education policies. 

“We abolished all discriminatory diversity, equity and inclusion policies throughout the federal government. We got critical race theory and transgender insanity out of our schools. Totally gone,” he said. 

Trump on Tuesday also blamed France’s open-border policies for the unrest, while praising his administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration.

French authorities announced Tuesday the arrest of two 16-year-olds suspected of firing fireworks at a police station over the weekend.

The incident targeted the Fameck Gendarmerie station in Moselle, northeastern France, Gendarmerie Nationale said.

“During the night of Saturday, October 17th to Sunday, October 18th, several individuals fired fireworks mortars at the gendarmerie brigade in Fameck, Moselle,” the agency said in a post on social media.

The two minors were identified during the investigation using CCTV footage.

Paris police arrested three people Wednesday after finding numerous retail items suspected of being looted during weekend riots inside their vehicle.

Authorities said they discovered several open shopping bags filled with new, tagged brand-name clothing during the traffic stop.

“Inside, they discovered several open shopping bags containing numerous brand-name clothes, new and still tagged, likely originating from the looting that occurred this weekend,” police said in a post on X.

A woman who watched her husband get brutally beaten by a mob of rioters in Paris is recounting the terrifying attack that left him bloodied.

"It was like a horror movie. I've never experienced a fear like that before," Almudena Garcia told "America's Newsroom" on Wednesday.

"We were just in the streets in the center of Paris ... We were about to leave, and then we heard some screaming, so we turned around, and we saw one of our friends being beat up by a group of individuals, four or five, and then my husband just ran to them in order to help his friends," she added.

Garcia, who lives in France, told Fox News the group turned on her husband and began beating him after he tried to help his friend.

"It happened very, very fast," she recounted.

"There were five at the beginning and four or five more just arrived in two seconds, so I just saw my husband being beat up by 10 individuals."

Garcia said she screamed for help during the attack, fearing her husband could be seriously injured or killed.

"I was panicking, and I was asking for help," she said.

According to Garcia, two waiters at a nearby restaurant intervened and pulled her husband inside to protect him from the attackers. She said several members of the group then followed him into the restaurant and continued the assault.

"Thanks to the waiters, they could finally get them [the rioters] out ... and I got into the restaurant, and I just saw my husband all covered in blood ... It was very, very scary," she added.

This is an excerpt of an article by Fox News Digital's Taylor Penley.

A major European retail group says weekend unrest in France damaged about a dozen of its stores, according to France 24.

Media and consumer electronics retailer Fnac Darty said some of its stores in Paris and Marseille were completely looted, the outlet reported.

“Yesterday and last night, several of our shops located in the city centre were targeted. We suffered violent intrusions, damage and looting,” CEO Enrique Martinez said in a Sunday post on LinkedIn. 

Martinez added that the company will work quickly to repair the damage and restore operations.

“I would also like to express my solidarity with all the shopkeepers, both large retailers and independents, affected by these same acts of violence, which are unbearable and unjustifiable,” he said. 

French authorities are banning protests across the country following riots over the weekend, as officials move to prevent further violence during upcoming demonstrations.

Protests scheduled for Thursday have been banned in Lyon and certain parts of Paris, while demonstrations in Toulon have been prohibited over the weekend, France 24 reported. Protests are also banned in Rouen and Le Havre on Saturday.

A police source told AFP that the decisions were made after organizers failed to ensure measures were in place to prevent violence, according to the outlet.

“The organizers had not planned a sufficiently large security detail and had not accepted an alternative route that would allow for reconciling the freedom to demonstrate with security requirements,” the prefect of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region said in a post on X, referring to the Lyon protest ban.

“Given the serious risk of public disorder and the current situation, I have decided to ban the demonstration to prevent violence and ensure everyone’s safety,” Étienne Guyot added, according to France 24.

Thousands of protesters took to the streets of Athens on Wednesday as unrest continues to sweep across Europe.

The demonstrations were fueled by anger over affordable student housing, the cost of living and state investment in education, according to The Associated Press.

Students and teachers made up the majority of the march, with educators launching a strike Wednesday, the AP reported.

Police closely monitored the march, conducting spot checks and bag searches as demonstrations in Greece have often turned violent, the AP reported. Stores and cafes along the march routes were also reportedly fitted with steel shutters to guard against vandalism.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Trials have begun in Paris following riots that swept across France on Saturday, with defendants facing charges ranging from assaulting police officers to handling stolen goods, according to France24.

Proceedings began Tuesday at the Paris judicial court, primarily involving people arrested prior to the demonstrations, mainly on the suspicion of carrying weapons, the outlet said.

At least 2,513 people were reportedly taken into police custody on Saturday alone.

Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin called for the “utmost firmness” as trials began on Tuesday, according to the report.

A Minnesota rapper has stood by his social media posts idolizing the increasingly violent protests in France, which resulted in some 2,500 arrests over the weekend.

Tufawon, whose real name is Rafael Gonzalez Jr., made a series of posts on Facebook advocating for White people in the United States to "go outside and raise hell" after he and Greta Thunberg visited Lycée Paul Éluard, the high school in Saint-Denis where many of the student demonstrations kicked off this month.

"Do I think way more people need to become radicalized here? Absolutely, especially white people, and that’s where I think we can take influence from the French. "All Power to the People!" the 40-year-old rapper wrote on Facebook. "Go f— s— up white people. It's your time."

In an earlier post, he clarified that when he says White Americans need to "raise hell" or "f— s— up" about supposed fascism and authoritarianism under the Trump administration, he means they need to "take it to next level peacefully and legally."

And in a statement to The New York Post, Tufawong said his Facebook posts "fall under figurative speech and in no way, shape or form did I use them with the intent to incite violence of any kind."

Tufawon, who is part Native American, also told the Post that his participation in some of the French protests last week was impromptu because he had been on vacation in the country.

Police in Paris announced Wednesday that their mobilization "against looters and rioters continues relentlessly" as dozens of new suspects have been identified following the mass protests over the weekend. 

"Thanks to the meticulous work of the investigators, particularly in the analysis of surveillance camera footage, 30 new suspects have been identified and brought before the courts in several distinct looting cases," police wrote on X. 

Investigators said they recovered more than 120 pairs of glasses totaling more than $50,000, as well as sports items, makeup and clothing. 

Photos had emerged from Paris Saturday showing rioters smashing storefronts. 

Police in Paris, France are implementing another curfew Wednesday in a bid to protect people and property following violence and looting that erupted during demonstrations over the weekend. 

"In accordance with the instructions of the Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu and French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez, in order to protect people and property from the risks of violence and looting committed in recent days, the Paris Police Prefecture has issued perimeter-based orders prohibiting gatherings and demonstrations in certain sectors of Paris," it wrote on X. 

"These orders take effect at 8 p.m. today until 6 a.m. tomorrow," it added. 

The head of CGT labor union – which Fox News Digital found is promoting the riots and protests in France – called for strikes on Nov. 5 following a meeting Wednesday with French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu. 

“The prime minister and the government have not announced any measures, nor have they taken our demands into account,” Sophie Binet was quoted by France24 as telling reporters, claiming Lecornu did not address any of her union's cost-of-living concerns. 

“The time has come to take our mobilization to the next level," she reportedly added. "The strike must now take over.” 

French President Emmanuel Macron vowed Wednesday that his country will respond swiftly to any rioting that comes out of planned protests this upcoming weekend.

"Those who want to cause disorder in city centers next Saturday will be prevented from doing so," Macron said during a visit to Qatar, where he is trying to secure energy deals for France, according to Reuters.

"There must be no wavering at the top of the state," he reportedly added.

French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said Tuesday that France will deploy some military forces to help out police during the upcoming protests.

French President Emmanuel Macron condemned world leaders Wednesday for making what he described as "stupid" comments about the protests in his country. 

"There was foreign manipulation of information which led to unacceptable and even stupid comments by many, including foreign leaders," Macron said, according to the AFP.

Asked by a reporter if he was referring to Trump, Macron replied: “Among others.”

"We saw images generated by AI which showed scenes that never took place in France," Macron reportedly told the media in Doha, Qatar, during a trip to the Middle East. 

"We had people who explained that we had been 'invaded by hordes of migrants and Islamists' -- which is totally false," the AFP cited Macron as saying. 

"In these moments you see who likes France and who does not. All the people who speak badly of us now do not like our country," he reportedly added. 

The Associated Press contributed to this post.

French President Emmanuel Macron said Wednesday he will meet with intelligence services tomorrow ahead of new protests set for this weekend, according to Reuters. 

The development comes as France's Yellow Vest movement – which has drawn international attention for protests in France – is planning a march through Paris on Saturday, including through areas impacted by rioting last weekend, Reuters reported. 

The news agency said the grassroots organization is looking to revive their campaign, which began in 2018, against rising living costs and issues with public services. 

French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu is also expected to meet with union leaders Wednesday in an attempt to ease tensions in France. 

In a letter, Lecornu said in part that the talks should center around ensuring "the indispensable ‌freedom to ⁠demonstrate,” Reuters reported. 

The protests began in France in September with calls for education reform, before expanding into larger anti-government demonstrations that French officials say are being fueled by far-left groups. 

President Donald Trump on Tuesday vowed to treat potential rioters in the U.S. “very rough,” pointing to the unrest that has gripped France in recent days.

Trump made the remarks during a speech in Greenville, North Carolina, ahead of the midterm elections, after a heckler interrupted him as he campaigned for Republican Senate candidate Michael Whatley.

“They're crazy, these people. Look at that guy. He's a nutjob,” Trump said, referring to the protester in the crowd.

Trump warned that he would crack down on potential threats, saying he would not allow similar unrest to take hold in the U.S.

“That's what you witness over the last three or four days. You watch nutjobs like him in France ruining their country,” Trump said. “We're not going to put up with it by the way.”

“If a possible threat, which could happen, I hope you won't get angry if I treat them very, very rough, because that's what's going to happen. They're not going to destroy our country.”

Yesterday's Fox News Digital live blog offers additional coverage of the protests in France.