Rioters attempt to smash the windows of a Snipes store near Châtelet–Les Halles in central Paris, France, on 18 October 2026. Matthieu Rondel/AFP.

Three-quarters of a sample of suspects brought before French courts following last month’s mass riots bore Arabic–Muslim or African-origin first names, according to an analysis by leading pollster Jérôme Fourquet.

The finding points to mounting indications of significant immigrant-background involvement in the looting and violence that, with the help of the far left, turned France’s protests over education and living costs into weeks of urban chaos.

Fourquet, director of the opinion department at polling institute Ifop, examined national and local newspaper accounts of expedited court hearings following the 17 October riots. Of the 70 cases in which sufficient biographical information was available, 75 per cent had first names he classified as Arabic–Muslim or African in origin. He described the result as showing ‘very strong overrepresentation’.

Similar concerns had already emerged in neighbouring Italy and Germany. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said around half of the 330 people stopped or arrested during October’s riots were of immigrant background. In Frankfurt, Hesse Interior Minister Roman Poseck described the groups involved in looting on 31 October as predominantly migrant in character.

The French findings have also exposed a growing split within the political establishment. Former prime minister and 2027 presidential contender Édouard Philippe said on 1 November that footage of the pillaging showed significant numbers of young French citizens of immigrant background. Far-left presidential candidate and one of the main political forces behind the riots, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, condemned his remarks as racist, while Republican leader Bruno Retailleau cited Fourquet’s research in support.

Joakim Scheffer, Hungarian Conservative