France riots sparked in part by cradle-to-grave entitlements, EU neighbors, US face similar dilemma

Here in the U.S. there’s growing debate over how much the government should give to its citizens. In Europe, one of the continent's proudest achievements has long been generous cradle-to-grave welfare. But today, it’s cracking under the weight of high debt and massive immigration. There’s simply not enough money to fund all the benefits and there aren’t enough resources to go around.

That imbalance is partly what’s sparked the current protests and riots in Europe.

In France, when the government announced freezes on public pay, pensions, and budgets, activists organized protests that turned violent. Similar tensions are playing out in multiple European countries.

In Spain, net migration has hit record highs. In late July, an estimated 70,000 illegal immigrants surged into a small Spanish territory in northern Africa. Spanish authorities deployed the military and extra police to send many back and turn away others.

Across Spain, the numbers are staggering. The foreign-born population is now about 19%, or 9.4 million people. Meanwhile, there’s a housing shortage of more than 700,000 units. Upfront costs for immigrant housing, healthcare and integration are rising. 

 Judith Arnal is a financial expert who’s worked in the Spanish government and studies the economy.

“So, basically I think that the welfare state is really, really strong,” she told Full Measure during an interview in Madrid.

When asked whether she can summarize some of the benefits that Spanish citizens are entitled to when it comes to social welfare assistance in healthcare as well as immigrants, she replied: “We pay our taxes and the return coming from those taxes is that there's free health, free education. 

"And we also have a public pension system. We also have unemployment subsidies. If someone is unemployed, depending on how long that person has worked, they have an entitlement to an unemployment subsidy. And once that unemployment subsidy is over, they still have the possibility to have a public [sic] subsidies. 

"We also have a minimum vital income for people who are in a very difficult situation,” she continued. “So really, social spending is really high, and our welfare state is strong. The question and the elephant in the room is to what extent that's sustainable?”

Spain isn’t alone. Across Europe, slower growth, high debt, and record immigration – legal and illegal– are testing society like never before.

The strain may be clearest in Britain, where there also aren’t enough homes, large numbers of immigrants further push the limits, and the U.K. is up against a fiscal cliff. 

Asylum costs recently topped $7 billion in a year. Polls show two-thirds of Britons say immigrant numbers are too high. Most name welfare benefits as a top concern. An independent watchdog recently warned that British debt is on an “unsustainable and ever-rising path.”

Supporters of immigration say immigrants fill jobs, fuel growth and prop up Europe’s declining fertility rates.

Member of Parliament Neil Coyle is with the Labour Party, similar to progressive Democrats in the U.S.

“We have 100,000 engineering vacancies in this country right now,” he told Full Measure in London. “We don't have 100,000 engineers in the country ready and willing to do those jobs. 

"So some economic migration to this country is really important to our public services, to our economy, to the taxes we need to pay for services, to fund the police, whatever it might be. 

"And I don't think that that is always fully understood. But does that mean that there aren't families who want their child to get a better place and then think that the school doesn't have enough spaces because of migrant children? You know, I hear some of that.”

Here in the U.S., we’re far from immune. America’s generous welfare plus years of open borders have created massive taxpayer burdens.

For a long time, the government has spent more money than it collects in taxes. In all, we owe about $124 for every $100 produced in the country. About 65% of U.S. federal spending goes to welfare and social insurance programs such as Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and food stamps.

In an effort to try to head off problems like those in Europe, President Trump has made strengthening border security a top priority. Illegal crossings in fiscal 2026 at the southern U.S. border were cut by 95% from Biden-era levels, resulting in the lowest number of illegal border crossings in U.S. history, the White House said earlier this month.

And the Trump administration, along with congressional Republicans, enacted significant policy changes and funding reductions impacting Medicaid and Medicare through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that the president signed into law in July.

Conservative-populist party gains across Europe are in part the result of stress over the welfare state.

In Germany, in September, a right-wing party strongly opposed to immigration surged among voters. France’s anti-immigration National Rally party leads polls ahead of next year’s presidential vote.

For more on this story, watch "Full Measure with Sharyl Attkisson” on Sunday. Attkisson's most recent bestseller is "Follow the $cience: How Big Pharma Misleads, Obscures, and Prevails."