From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, October 20, 2026
Netanyahu claims French protests fueled by ‘invasion of extremist Islam’
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says France has been hit by an “invasion of extremist Islam,” after weekend protests over economic conditions degenerated into riots.
In an interview, the prime minister says French leaders failed to prepare for the unrest, claiming it was fueled by extremist Muslims despite the diverse mix of French society that took to the streets in major cities, including the capital Paris.
“They did not prepare in time; they simply gave up. They succumbed to the invasion of extremist Islam,” Netanyahu says, according to the interpreter’s French translation on French-language channel i24News.
Asked what advice he would give to France, Netanyahu says: “Fight back, do not pursue a policy of appeasement — fight against the extremists.”
He adds that he had told French President Emmanuel Macron after Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack that “if we do not eliminate them here, you will have them in Paris — and that is exactly what is happening.”
The Times of Israel Community.