Texas Rep. Keith Self said the riots tearing through French cities trace back to years of mass migration. The French government has a different explanation: it has blamed organized activist groups for inflaming public anger over living costs and the price of education.
Self chairs the Subcommittee on Europe on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. He told Fox News Digital that the violence did not surprise him.
“They’ve been allowing this to happen for years and years, so they are reaping what they sowed,” Self said. “We’re also trying to get a handle on our mass migration consequences, just like France should have done years ago. That’s why I say this is a lesson to America. We are watching the future of America in France and the U.K., frankly.”
French authorities said police arrested 1,800 people nationwide after more than 500,000 demonstrators filled streets across the country. More than 800 of those arrests took place in Paris. Rioters looted stores and set fire to centuries-old buildings, and photos and video from the demonstrations showed some protesters carrying Algerian, Palestinian and Moroccan flags.
Self tied the unrest to the size and concentration of France’s Muslim population. “They’ve got, what, 7% now are Muslims in France? And, you know, when you reach that percentage — and very concentrated in some large cities — that gives you the tipping point that everybody talks about,” he said. France’s National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies ranks Islam second behind Catholicism among residents of metropolitan France ages 18 to 59.
The congressman co-founded the Sharia-Free America Caucus with Texas Rep. Chip Roy. The U.S. Council of Muslim Organizations has condemned the caucus.
Self did not soften his position. “This is what you get when you think that everyone is culturally and morally equivalent. They’re not. And at some point, you have got to make the decision: Are we going to defend a Christian heritage in France, or are we not?” he said.
He described France as being in an open civil war and said its military should step in, though he doubted the government would order it. “There’s too much destruction now, so we’ll see if they’ve got the gumption to send in the military. But if they don’t, then they’re very close to losing their culture in the large cities,” Self said.
Asked whether French President Emmanuel Macron should step down, Self said, “That’s up to Macron. I think it would probably be beneficial to France.”
Self drew a line between his criticism and the alliance itself. He proposed that Washington help French authorities gather intelligence on the protests, while clarifying that he was not calling for Americans to be sent to France. “I think we probably ought to offer them what help we could, facial identification, whatever,” he said.
“France is still a very important, very large ally and partner. So we need to do what we can, understanding that, you know, President Trump has tried to get them to step up and do more. But this is not the time to abandon France,” Self said.
The Louvre Museum in Paris has closed because of the protests and will remain shut until further notice.
