France’s Riots Expose the Threat of Antisemitism

They called them disaffected students — mere schoolchildren who wanted nothing more than livable conditions in their schools. It was a refrain that wore thinner as the weeks of violence in France persisted, as those so-called “students” festooned themselves with revolutionary accouterments and tore at the fabric of French society.

All the while, the French political class internalized a critique of themselves that the rioters were not making. What is wrong with us, they seemed to ask, that these young people would take a hatchet to their own heritage? Are the efforts by French police to subdue the violence only inspiring more of it? Are they really just angry over fuel prices?

About the Author

Noah Rothman

Noah Rothman is a senior writer at National Review. His third book, Blood and Progress: A Century of Left-Wing Violence, was published by Hachette in May 2026.

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They called them disaffected students — mere schoolchildren who wanted nothing more than livable conditions in their schools. It was a refrain that wore thinner as the weeks of violence in France persisted, as those so-called “students” festooned themselves with revolutionary accouterments and tore at the fabric of French society.

All the while, the French political class internalized a critique of themselves that the rioters were not making. What is wrong with us, they seemed to ask, that these young people would take a hatchet to their own heritage? Are the efforts by French police to subdue the violence only inspiring more of it? Are they really just angry over fuel prices?

About the Author

Noah Rothman

Noah Rothman is a senior writer at National Review. His third book, Blood and Progress: A Century of Left-Wing Violence, was published by Hachette in May 2026.