Iran Mocks France After Macron Blames Middle East War for Riots
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused French President Emmanuel Macron of “welcom[ing] atrocities against Iranians” and mockingly called for the French government to “listen” to hordes of violent rioters in a social media post on Sunday, responding to Macron blaming the war between Iran and America for the riots.
France endured a chaotic weekend in which tens of thousands of people, who local politicians have identified as a variety of leftist and Islamist extremists, engaged in a wave of vandalism and destruction throughout the nation’s largest cities, burning down several major historical sites, most prominently the Limoges City Hall. Macron delivered a national address on Sunday in which he discouraged further violence and blamed the war that began between America and Iran in February for the high cost of living in the country, which he claimed was fueling unrest in the country.
Araghchi and Iranian state media, covering his comments, mocked Macron for linking the conflict – caused by the Iranian Islamist regime’s insistence on engaging in illicit uranium enrichment and other nuclear activities – with violence in France. The state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) described Macron as “pathetic” for linking higher costs of living around the world to Iran.
“Mr. Macron made his bed when he assured POTUS that he welcomes atrocities against Iranians,” Araghchi wrote on social media. “Too late to blame the war his ilk helped cause. The French people demand wholesale change, including freedom of assembly. Listen to the future of France, Mr. President.”
Araghchi’s calls for “freedom of assembly” and respecting protesters ring especially hollow less than a year after one of the most violent purges of dissidents in the history of the Iranian Islamist regime. Peaceful protests – in contrast to the extreme riots in France – erupted in Iran in December in response to the collapse in the value of the national currency, the rial, and over five decades of violent repression of political dissidents in the country. Araghchi’s government responded with overwhelming state force, killing thousands of unarmed, peaceful protesters to suppress their opinions.
By the end of January, Iranian opposition groups estimated that the regime killed as many as 30,000 people.
In contrast, the French government is not believed to have killed anyone at press time in response to this weekend’s riots. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu announced about 1,200 arrested on Saturday and stated that the government had tallied at least 150 law enforcement officers injured attempting to contain the riots.
Riots spread throughout Paris, Lyon, Nice, and other major cities, reportedly led by unknown “hooded individuals” who looted and destroyed businesses and attempted to burn down several landmarks. In Limoges, the iconic city hall inaugurated in 1883 burned down completely, its iconic bell tower destroyed.
In Nice, Mayor Éric Ciotti blamed “Islamo-Leftism” and “narco-Islamists” for organizing the mass destruction of city landmarks
“We are facing a red fascism, a French Intifada, a form of insurrection where Islamists, Antifa members, rioters, and looters—remotely controlled by the far left with terrorist aims—converge,” he denounced.
Some reports suggested that the looters were targeting synagogues and Jewish businesses in Paris and Marseille. Some synagogues were confirmed vandalized, though French authorities have not confirmed the targeting of Jewish sites specifically.
Macron lamented the destruction in his country in his address on Friday, blaming “extremists from far-left groups” but failing to acknowledge any role his government may have played in either the grievances the rioters were allegedly responding to or the insufficient law enforcement response to the violence.
“These demonstrators expressed concern about the cost of living and the price of fuel. Both are driven by the conflict launched in the Persian Gulf,” Macron alleged, “a conflict in which France has taken no part but whose consequences we are suffering. I fully understand their concern.”
“It is being expressed in several other European capitals as well,” Macron said, apparently referring to unrelated protests in Italy and Albania.
“In this regard, I have taken several initiatives at the international level to guarantee our fuel and gas supplies and to act on the energy markets. I will continue these actions tomorrow morning by travelling to the Gulf countries to secure our supplies,” Macron continued.
The French president boarded a plane to Kuwait immediately after delivering his address.
While France and Iran are not currently engaging in any direct hostilities, the Iranian regime has repeatedly condemned France for supporting sanctions against it and occasionally hosting Iranian dissident groups.
Most recently, the Iranian Islamists condemned France for supporting United Nations sanctions on Iran following the revelation by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that Iran had breached its international legal obligation, putting into place “snapback” sanctions alongside Germany and the United Kingdom. In July 2025, following the IAEA revelation and subsequent sanctions, Araghchi demanded that the government of France and the two other European powers “be held to account in international criminal tribunals as defendants for complicity in war crimes.”
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