French Government Hits Back at ICE With Gun Crime Stats After US Agency's France Protest Post

The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are trading barbs on social media through their official X accounts.

It started with a post from the American X account @Breaking911 showing a video of masked protesters jockeying for position in a photo while a fire burned behind them. 'France has fallen,' the caption read.

The video was reportedly from the weekend protests in France on 17 and 18 October 2026.

French MFA vs. US ICE

The official US ICE account shared the video along with the caption: 'Every day we are fighting to prevent American streets from looking like this.' The post implied that illegal migrants were behind the protests, even though reports have described demonstrations over education and cost-of-living issues in France.

The official French MFA account, French Response, replied with an image showing firearm homicide rates among G7 nations. The United States topped the list with a rate of 5.9 per 100,000 people. 'Every day we are fighting to prevent French stats from looking like this,' the French Response post read.

The source of the figures in the French post was not immediately clear. However, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) also published data on age-adjusted firearm homicide rates per 100,000 people in high-income countries with populations exceeding 10 million in 2021. The United States also ranked highest in that dataset, with a rate of 4.52.

By comparison, France's rate was listed as 0.3 in the French Response post and 0.24 in the IHME data.

US ICE Gets Trolled

French Response was not the only social media user to troll US ICE on X. Internet personality SNEAKO, born Nicolas Kenn De Balinthazy, shared ICE's post along with the caption: 'Muslim immigrants did not storm the Capitol on January 6 when 1,500 violent criminals were pardoned by the President.'

SNEAKO was referring to the 6 January 2021 attack on the US Capitol, when supporters of then-President Donald Trump stormed the building in an attempt to disrupt the joint session of Congress certifying Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 presidential election. Trump later issued pardons or commutations for people prosecuted over the attack.

Another social media user replied with a photograph of federal agents detaining an individual in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in January 2026. The post's caption claimed that 60 immigrants had been killed by ICE that year, including 17 Mexicans.

Published reports cover different periods and distinguish deaths in custody from deaths during immigration operations. Human Rights Watch documented at least 52 deaths in ICE custody between 20 January 2025 and 4 June 2026.

Meanwhile, Mexico's Foreign Ministry said in July 2026 that 17 Mexican nationals had died in incidents linked to ICE operations or while in its custody.

French Riots and Protests

ICE's post came amid a wave of demonstrations across France that escalated into violent clashes, fires and looting in several cities during the weekend of 17 and 18 October. The protests centred on concerns about education, public services and the rising cost of living.

While violent clashes made headlines, many parts of France also saw peaceful rallies. ICE's post echoed claims made by Trump, who blamed immigration for the unrest in France. He urged France to take control of its borders.