US President Donald Trump has linked France’s growing high school protest movement to mass migration, rejecting claims that the unrest is mainly about education. Trump said the protests were part of a wider struggle over Islam and migration in France.

In a post on Truth Social on Tuesday, Trump blamed what he called uncontrolled migration for the unrest. He wrote, "What's happening in France is nothing less than out-of-control mass migration. This isn't about schools, this is about Islam wanting to take over a once great Country!"

France saw its biggest day of school protests since the movement began in September. Students, teachers and parents marched across the country over poor school conditions, staff shortages and inadequate funding. The protests began in poorer areas around Paris before spreading to other parts of France.

French students have spent weeks blocking school entrances and demanding improvements to the education system. The movement has intensified pressure on President Emmanuel Macron’s government as it deals with wider economic challenges.

Trump, however, has dismissed the education concerns as the main reason for the protests. His comments reflect his wider criticism of migration in Europe. He and members of his administration have repeatedly warned that uncontrolled immigration could weaken Western societies.

The issue also carries political weight in the United States. With the midterm elections approaching next month, Republicans have continued to focus on immigration and cultural issues to energise Trump’s conservative supporters. MAGA figures have also used the French unrest to push similar arguments. Trump ally Glenn Beck said on Monday that the "riots in France are a clear warning to the rest of the West".

Republicans have increased their focus on migration and other culture-war issues as concerns grow over Trump’s popularity and the fallout from the Iran war.

On Tuesday, thousands of students, teachers and parents marched through French cities demanding better-funded and better-maintained schools. The demonstrations remained largely peaceful in several areas. In Marseille and Nantes, protesters held signs reading, "The state has killed national education". In Toulouse, parents linked arms at the front of a march.

Tensions rose in some other cities. In Strasbourg, Lyon and Rennes, some protesters set fires and threw projectiles. Police responded with tear gas. The clashes added a more volatile element to a movement that began with complaints about classrooms, staff shortages and school infrastructure.

The French government has deployed riot police as the protests have spread. Rights groups, student organisations and parents have criticised the police response. They accused authorities of using disproportionate force, particularly against minors. The government has said outside groups and violent elements have taken over parts of the movement, moving attention away from education.

The scale of the disruption remains disputed. The Union Syndicale Lycéenne said around 2,000 high schools had been shut across France and claimed universities had also joined the mobilisation. The education ministry gave a lower figure, saying classes had been fully or partially suspended at 891 schools. The High School Students Union said more than half of France’s high schools were either blockaded or expected to close.

Some local education authorities shifted classes online. Students and parents have also raised concerns over leaking roofs, ageing buildings, staff shortages and poor school conditions, including reports of rat infestations. The government has promised measures to address some of these problems, but protests have continued.