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France's riots and immigration, in brief
France saw nationwide riots on 17–18 October 2026, after a cost-of-living and youth protest. That came three years after the 2023 riots that followed the police killing of 17-year-old Nahel Merzouk. About 11.6% of people in France are immigrants.
2,397arrests in the riots of 17–18 October 2026 (Interior Minister via ICI)
~€1bndamage from the 2023 riots (French Senate)
7.97mimmigrants living in France, 11.6% of the population, 2025 (INSEE)
35 of 86articles of the 2024 immigration law struck down (LCP)
What is happening?
- October 2026 riots. Rioting and looting hit Paris, Marseille, Limoges and other cities, and Limoges town hall burned. The government blamed the ultra-left and criminal groups. No data on the nationality of those arrested has been published.
- 2023 riots. In 2023, 12,031 vehicles were burned, 2,508 buildings damaged and 782 officers injured. Most of those arrested were young French nationals. France does not record ethnicity or religion.
- Immigration. France also has 7.99 million descendants of immigrants. An illustrative model on this site puts immigrants plus their descendants at about 31% of the population in 2050. That share passes 50% only in a high-migration case, near 2100.
- Government. Macron's governments passed immigration laws in 2018 and 2024. About one in ten orders to leave France is carried out. France has had three prime ministers since September 2024.