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French soccer icon Emmanuel Petit condemns arson and looting, warns Macron to 'protect honest citizens'

by · Fox News

French soccer legend Emmanuel Petit ripped into the violent rioters wrecking cities across France, telling the lawless agitators who hate the country to "go back from where you came."

The 1998 World Cup winner fired up Instagram Sunday to vent his "profound deep anger" after protests turned into total madness with torched cars, looted stores, and trashed streets. More than 2,400 rioters have already been locked up nationwide, Fox News Digital reported.

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What started as protests over school policy and living costs quickly turned into complete street warfare over the weekend. Masked mobs smashed up store windows and set cars on fire, forcing riot police to unload tear gas in Paris and Marseille while French President Emmanuel Macron admitted he felt "both anger and shame."

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The ex-Arsenal star didn't dance around it, unleashing on the lawless mobs tearing through neighborhoods.

Pedestrians walk along a street covered in debris a day after nationwide protests against the "high cost of living", in Marseille on October 18, 2026. (Thibaud Moritz/AFP/Getty Images)
This photograph shows a fire burning and destroying the city hall after a group of individuals forced entry into the building during ongoing protest action against the "high cost of living", in Limoges, central France on October 17, 2026 as part of a nationwide call for mobilisation bringing together various groups expressing their anger: former "Yellow Vest", secondary school and university students, climate activists and even farmers. After weeks of student protests, France faces broader, nationwide demonstrations on October 17, 2026 over the cost of living, setting up a potentially fraught six months heading into a presidential election. A police source told AFP that authorities estimated nearly 200,000 people could take part, with 40,000 in Paris.
Emmanuel Petit of RMC Sport comments on the UEFA Champions League Group G match between Olympique Lyonnais and RB Leipzig at Groupama Stadium on Dec. 10, 2019, in Lyon, France. (Getty Images)
Emmanuel Petit of Arsenal Legends during the Arsenal Foundation Charity match between Arsenal Legends and Milan Glorie at Emirates Stadium on Sept. 3, 2016, in London, England. (Getty Images)

"It's thugs because their cowardice is what unites them," he blasted. "They destroy everything, they burn everything, they break everything, they plunder, they steal, they hurt, they aggress, they insult."

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He contrasted the criminal mobs on the streets with honest, hard-working taxpayers who are fed up with runaway inflation and crushing government policies.

"You shouldn't mix up the people who manifested yesterday, and I understand them strongly because I too am more than fed up of being pressed like a lemon on a fiscal plan," Petit said, defending working-class families who rise early, pay taxes, and follow the law while being abandoned by the state.

Emmanuel Petit looks on before the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 first-leg match between Olympique Lyonnais and FC Barcelona at Groupama Stadium on Feb. 19, 2019, in Lyon, France. (Getty Images)

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Petit laid down the law on immigration, welcoming foreigners who respect France while telling agitators who hate the nation that nobody wants them around.

"I love my country, I love all foreigners who love my country and who want to integrate," Petit said.

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"But all the others, starting with the French who do not wish precisely that France continues to be what it is, go back from where you came, we don't need you," he warned.

Petit went even further, directly targeting homegrown radicals and native-born rioters taking part in the violence: "And all those who were born with a French passport, break yourselves [get lost], we don't want you anymore."

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The soccer star didn't let Macron off the hook either, putting France's political elite on blast and demanding they actually do their jobs to protect law-abiding citizens.

A protester watches a fire burn at a demonstration in Paris, France, on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026. Rioters attacked French public buildings and looted stores in cities including Paris as protests against the high cost of living drew more than half a million people, underscoring the nation's challenges ahead of presidential elections next year. Photographer: Nathan Laine/Bloomberg via Getty Images
France's Emmanuel Petit celebrates after scoring the third goal against Brazil in the FIFA World Cup final on July 12, 1998, in Paris. (Offside via Getty Images)

"I'm addressing the political class, starting with our dear president, Mr. Macron, and all the political classes," Petit said. "To all these people, I have a message to give you: be very careful about what you are going to do, what you are going to say, and how you are going to protect the honest citizens in France."

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Petit concluded by slamming a failed government apparatus that taxes citizens into oblivion while starving law enforcement and essential services.

"Because today, there's no money for the police, there's no money for the army, there's no money for the hospitals, there's no money for the schools," Petit said. "Bizarrely, the only thing that works in France, is taxes."

Emmanuel Petit of France 98 reacts during warmup before the friendly match between France 98 and FIFA 98 at U Arena on June 12, 2018, in Nanterre, France. (Getty Images)

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Alejandro Avila is a longtime writer at OutKick, living in Southern California.