Opinion

France is learning the hard way what happens when the socialist bill comes due

France’s checkbook is tapped out. It hasn’t balanced a budget in 50 years, and this year’s deficit is over 5 percent

By Simon Hankinson Fox News

Published October 20, 2026 2:44pm EDT

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Greg Palkot reports on violent far-left riots and looting in France

French cities face escalating chaos as Fox News' Greg Palkot reports on widespread far-left riots, looting and arson attacks. French President Emmanuel Macron warns that lawbreakers will face consequences.

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"Is Paris Burning?"

The title of that 1960s movie came from a message Adolf Hitler sent to his commanding general in Paris in August 1944. He wanted Paris to burn if he couldn’t keep it.

Today, the call isn’t coming from the Führerbunker; it’s from inside the house. It’s not Nazis, but the French — and quasi-French — burning Paris and other French cities.

The Louvre museum in Paris, home to the Mona Lisa, closed Monday "due to a student social movement." That’s one way to describe the utter chaos overtaking French cities.

PHOTOS SHOW AFTERMATH OF RIOTS AS MASKED GROUPS CLASH WITH POLICE ACROSS FRANCE

In Limoges, rioters set fire to the town hall, destroying its iconic tower. In Marseille, they broke into city hall and vandalized the interior. In Paris, a video circulating online appeared to show young thugs shouting, "Wallah! Kill her!" and "Dirty whore!" [my translation] at a policewoman they chased and threw to the ground — all while trashing property and assaulting people on the streets.

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