Oil Falls About 2% After Trump's Russia Sanctions Waiver as France's CAC 40 Drops 1.3% With Riot Arrests Near 2,400

Since Trump signed an order last week waiving the Russia sanctions law and Saturday's Oct. 17 protests in France turned violent, both stories have moved markets. On Monday, Oct. 19, oil fell around 2% following the waiver, which covers sweeping sanctions including those on Russian energy. France's CAC 40 sank 1.3% to 7,854.31 in early European trading.

France: arrests climb, stocks slide

The arrest count from the weekend's unrest keeps rising. Trump's post on Sunday cited more than 1,800. Reports on Monday put the figure above 2,000, and by the Epoch Times' count at nearly 2,400.

Macron addressed the nation on the evening of Oct. 18. "Those who destroyed must pay, those who looted must repay, and those who sought to bring down the Republic will have to answer for it," he said. He blamed "seditious elements from ultra-left splinter groups, joined by many criminals." He singled out the burning of the 19th-century City Hall in Limoges, and said prefects could ban "certain gatherings."

The protests began as a nationwide demonstration against the rising cost of living and poor school conditions. Cars were set on fire and shops looted in Paris, and police used tear gas and water cannon.

The damage is visible on the ground. Yoni, a shop owner near Place de la République who gave only his first name, found the marble display pieces in his showroom smashed. "Here there was nothing to steal, only things to break," he said. A 25,000-euro table lay in pieces.

Around Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.8% to 10,795.31 and Germany's DAX dropped 1% to 25,360.14.

Trump weighed in on Truth Social on Oct. 18: "France is burning! The immigration of people from an entirely different world, people with hatred in their hearts, has shattered that once great country. Close your Borders and take control, before it is too late!" Macron's own address pointed at far-left splinter groups and criminals. It did not mention immigration.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday that allegations of Russian involvement in unrest across Europe are "absurd." "Nobody anywhere takes such absurd accusations seriously anymore. Not even in Europe itself," he told Zvezda News. The documents do not name who made the allegation.

Sanctions waiver: Republicans push back

The waiver suspends sanctions that were due to take effect under a package passed 86-11 in the Senate and championed by the late Sen. Lindsey Graham. It drew bipartisan backlash almost immediately.

Speaker Mike Johnson said Sunday on Fox News that he had told the White House team they need to talk and "carefully consider the unintended consequences that may ensue." He said he had not spoken to Trump directly because both were traveling. Johnson said Congress "voted on this decisively just several weeks ago, and we understand that Putin cannot be trusted."

Johnson also defended the president's approach. "He thinks outside the box with creative ideas all the time, and he carefully evaluates those," he said. "So I think the right decision will be made here in the end."

Other Republicans were blunter. Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina wrote on X: "What part of enforcing a law passed 86-11 by the Senate does the President and his advisors not understand?" He called the move "capitulating to a Russian dictator." Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska said Trump is "prolonging the war, not ending it."

Trump's stated reason is on Truth Social. He wrote that he is "in the process of negotiating Peace in the war between Russia and Ukraine, and don't want to do anything that will drive, foolishly, Russia away from the bargaining table."

Tech sell-off adds to the pressure

The French and oil moves landed during a wider sell-off. On Friday the S&P 500 fell 1.1% and the Nasdaq composite sank 2.1%. Investors are worried about the sustainability of the AI boom.

Capital Economics' Thomas Mathews wrote Monday that his firm has "been arguing for a while that volatility in tech stocks would pick up as the AI bubble continued to inflate." He added that sharp, short-lived sell-offs were common as the dotcom bubble inflated.

In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 lost 0.6% to 64,916.70. South Korea's Kospi rose 1.8% to 5,768.01 but is still down more than 17% over the past month. Indonesia's benchmark index fell over 5% at its peak, to its lowest level since 2020. On Friday, it had plunged over 11% after index provider MSCI warned it would downgrade the country from emerging-market status.

China reported 4.5% growth for the July-September quarter, better than expected, and the Shanghai Composite edged up 0.4%. U.S. equity futures edged higher Monday ahead of earnings from Meta, Netflix, General Motors, Tesla and IBM.

It remains unclear whether Trump will reverse or narrow the waiver under pressure from his own party. Johnson has said only that he expects "the right decision" in the end. Meanwhile, Macron has promised prosecutions and has said prefects could ban gatherings, and the French government's next steps on public order are still unfolding.