The Movement: Paris is burning. The American right is watching.

Protests and riots in France have become the latest Republican talking point in the U.S. as the party makes a last-ditch effort to tie Democrats to immigration and socialism two weeks out from the midterm elections.

Protesters, largely high school students, first took to the streets earlier this month to demand better school conditions. Those demonstrations turned into wider protests on cost-of-living issues in the country, which have descended into riots and looting in major French cities.

Saturday saw the largest outbreak of protests so far — with about 2,400 people arrested nationally.

The unrest has put a sharp focus on French political tensions ahead of its elections next year. But Republicans have seized on the imagery as a warning to voters of the social and political chaos Democrats would sow if they clinch power on Nov. 3.

“France is descending into chaos because they wanted OPEN BORDERS — just like the socialist Democrats in America,” Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) wrote in a post on social media. “What we are witnessing is a chilling warning for all Americans of what happens if the radical Marxist insurgent left gets their way.”

Both President Trump and Vice President Vance also sought to link the situation in France to Democrats , particularly immigration policy.

“The migrants have taken over France,” Trump wrote Monday morning on Truth Social. “They must CLOSE THE BORDERS, FAST!”

Vance wrote on social media over the weekend that, “Western liberals imported the third world into France and other countries in the name of diversity and compassion.”

“I pray that France, a beautiful country of amazing people, will stop this madness before more of its landmarks burn,” he continued. ”And I hope Americans are paying attention. This is the future congressional Democrats seek for your country.”

The photos and video of the unrest in France are red meat for the GOP base. Republicans have long pointed to immigration policy and unrest in Western Europe as a cautionary tale in their push for more restrictive border policy in the U.S.

Ongoing protests in France have focused on education and the economy, not immigration. French officials have not suggested there is any link between immigration and the protest activity.

“What you’re seeing in France is the natural and eventual consequence of the Suicidal Empathy so many in The West have adopted,” Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) wrote on social media . “It’s one of the reasons I fight so hard on the mass migration issue here in our homeland — America. It’s not too late but we must take illegal immigration, problems with legal immigration seriously and not flinch on deportations.”

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) used similar language , alluding to the region’s growing Muslim population.

“We are witnessing Islamists right now burning Paris because Europe has committed cultural suicide,” Cruz said. “We should look to France as foreshadowing for what America faces if we don’t stop this here. We are fighting to save our nation.”

Kevin Roberts , president of the Heritage Foundation, also suggested the protesters were immigrants or otherwise not native French, in a social post responding to French President Emmanuel Macron’s call for peace over the weekend.

“Mr. Macron, the people you are fecklessly asking to stop burning down your country hardly understand the language you speak, nor do they care,” Roberts wrote . “There are lessons you refuse to learn, and so France will continue to burn.”

Republicans are also taking any chance they get to tie Democrats to socialism, antisemitism and general urban mayhem as their own political disadvantage grows more pronounced in the lead-up to the election.

Socialism in particular has been a key talking point for Republicans, who point to historic wins by democratic socialist candidates in primary elections this year.

“This is what happens when leaders lose the will to defend their country and the rule of law. America must never follow this path,” Sen. Dave McCormick (R-Pa.) wrote on social media .

“We have a civilization worth defending, and we’d better have the courage to defend it against bad DSA ideas that are anti-police, anti-law enforcement, anti-capitalist, and anti-American. This could be our future if these ideas prevail,” he added, referencing the Democratic Socialists of America.

Conservatives were also quick to look for evidence of a conspiracy from left-wing groups riling up protesters or otherwise provoking violence. There were other anti-government protests over the weekend in other European cities, including Lisbon and Milan .

Andrew Kolvet, spokesperson for Turning Point USA, suggested the France protests were part of a larger scheme from the far left. He referred to a report from Fox News Digital alleging that 54 organizations, including labor unions, left-leaning political groups and human rights organizations “helped organize and amplify” the original student protests.

“You still think it’s a bunch of students in France and now Milan? Well the same socialist and communist groups behind those riots are planning a November 20th ‘demonstration’ spanning 12 countries,” Kolvet wrote. “It’s all funded and coordinated.”

The response from some on the left has not assuaged those concerns on the right.

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) , one of the most vocal economic progressives in Congress, suggested that the protests shed light on people’s dissatisfaction with wealth inequality.

“From the high schools of France to the streets of Madrid to the universities of Tirana, young people are telling their governments the same thing: in an age of massive wealth inequality, they want a future they can believe in,” Khanna wrote on social media.

“[This] is what happens when nations let wealth and power accumulate in the hands of a few. This is what happens when young people lose hope in their future. In America, let us listen to our young.”

After garnering criticism, Khanna clarified that he condemned the violence and vandalism.

Welcome to The Movement , a weekly newsletter looking at the influences and debates on the right in Washington. I’m Helen Huiskes, Senate reporter.

Send me tips, comments, and suggestions: hhuiskes@thehill.com

How conservative groups have spent midterm cash

PACs pour millions into battleground Senate contests

Elon Musk’s America PAC donated $158 million in the last quarter to Senate Leadership Fund (SLF), associated with Senate Republicans. The SLF immediately put that money into the Texas Senate race to back embattled GOP nominee Ken Paxton .

Musk’s group has already spent big for Republicans elsewhere. He invested more than $76 million for Senate candidates in Michigan and Alaska as well as a host of House races.

The Republican National Committee is now wading in, too, with an unprecedented $4 million ad spend coordinated with the campaign to help Rep. Ashley Hinson (R) win Iowa’s open seat. And the National Republican Senatorial Committee is launching coordinated spends too, with $614,000 to support Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall (R) , according to AdImpact.

Meanwhile, a new super PAC linked to national Republicans jumped into the Nebraska Senate race last week with $1.4 million, backing Sen. Pete Ricketts (R) .

Heavy hitters move money as races slide off map

National Republicans already shifted funds out of North Carolina’s Senate race — which is looking increasingly favorable for Democrats — to toss-up Kansas.

Democrats and Republicans have also slowed their spending in Georgia’s Senate race as Sen. Jon Ossoff (D) becomes increasingly likely to keep his seat.

Republicans are almost certain to move more money around as they play defense on Senate seats in Alaska, Ohio and Iowa. MAGA Inc., the super PAC affiliated with Trump, is expected to pull out of several House races to instead put more money behind the Senate majority, according to Politico.

The GOP will also send millions to seats it could still flip. The Michigan Senate race is one of the most expensive in the country by ad spending. Republicans have $28.6 million in ad spending reserved there so far, against Democrats’ $11.3 million, according to AdImpact .

As Trump’s approval rating continues to sink, Republican candidates and strategists are adjusting the content of their programming. GOP ads mention Trump less and less, according to an analysis from AdImpact .

Republican candidates in the toughest races are also speaking out more against Trump policies, including the war on Iran and the tariffs with Canada .

Insead, groups and candidates are looking to validate voters’ concerns about the economy while encouraging them not to vote for Democrats. Americans for Prosperity Action, an organization aligned with the Koch family, launched a new series of ads last week in five states featuring actors speaking directly to the camera, complaining about high prices but deciding that socialism — and by extension, the Democratic candidate — “is not the answer.”

Anti-abortion groups demand CDC better monitor incidence

Several anti-abortion groups are calling on the Trump administration to establish new reporting requirements for maternal mortality and abortion incidence. The groups wrote in a letter published Wednesday that abortions are undercounted in Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) statistics and suggested policy moves to fix this.

“We appreciate your commitment to data integrity and transparency and for acknowledging that abortion surveillance is ‘an absolutely critical component of what the CDC is currently doing’ alongside the agency’s surveillance of maternal mortality,” the letter addressed to new CDC Director Erica Schwartz said. “We believe women should be provided with excellent healthcare, starting with accurate public health information.”

The organizations that signed the letter include Americans United for Life, Christian Medical and Dental Associations, the American Association of Pro-Life OBGYNs and the Catholic Medical Association.

The specific concern, the letter details, is that statistics about maternal mortality rates per year are calculated against the number of live births, rather than all pregnancy outcomes (including abortions). Including this statistic would create a more thorough picture of how abortions affect maternal mortality outcomes, the groups argue.

“Fixing broken maternal mortality and abortion reporting measures is the stopgap slowing breakthroughs in women’s healthcare,” said Gavin Oxley , spokesperson for Americans United for Life. “Women and their healthcare providers should be equipped with the highest quality data to inform their pregnancy decisions, saving lives. Reforms at the CDC should be embraced with bipartisan support.”

Schwartz, in her July confirmation hearing, signaled openness to further monitoring the incidence of abortions in the U.S.

Republicans of all stripes are pushing back on Trump’s move to undercut the bipartisan Russia sanctions bill. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Monday he warned the White House about consequences of loosening Russian sanctions, and several Republican senators also fired off critical social media posts over the weekend. The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board also had harsh words for Trump’s renewed warmth toward Moscow.

Some conservative groups are trying to determine whether Trump’s latest pick for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit is conservative enough. G. Todd Butler , the judge, has a quiet record on political issues he may have to deal with on the New Orleans-based appellate court. More here.

Older Republicans’ entrenched negative views of certain countries, especially China, Russia, Canada and Mexico, are somewhat lost on their younger counterparts. Republicans and Republican-leaning independents aged 18-34 viewed Russia and China nearly 10 points more favorably than Republicans aged 50 and over in a recent Pew Research Center survey .

Oct. 20: Advancing American Freedom Foundation (AAF) hosts a roundtable in the Cannon House Office Building on combating antisemitism, featuring AAF’s Eugene Kontorovich, Joel Griffith and former Auburn University men’s basketball coach Bruce Pearl. RSVP here .

Nov. 18: The Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity hosts Freedom & Progress 2026, a gathering of leaders committed to expanding opportunity through free enterprise, innovation, pluralism, and individual liberty. Details here .

Ross Douthat in The Free Press: How to Survive the Robot Apocalypse