Macron Accuses Foreign Leaders of Exploiting French Riots

French President Emmanuel Macron has accused unnamed foreign leaders of exploiting recent riots in France for electoral purposes, alleging they are using fake AI-generated videos to influence public opinion. Macron stated these leaders are campaigning "at France's expense" with their comments on the violence, which initially stemmed from cost-of-living protests.

Speaking during a visit to Qatar, Macron suggested that foreign interference in the events themselves was not evident, but acknowledged "foreign manipulation of information afterwards." He specifically refuted claims that France had been "invaded by hordes of migrants and Islamists," calling such assertions "completely false."

The comments are widely interpreted as a swipe at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces parliamentary elections next week, and former U.S. President Donald Trump, whose party is nearing midterm elections. Netanyahu recently stated that France had been hit by an "invasion of extremist Islam" and warned Macron that if Hamas was not eliminated, "you will have them in Paris."

Trump, in turn, attributed the riots to mass immigration, remarking, "That's about people coming into the countries that hate the country." He urged Macron to "Close your borders and take control before it is too late!"

The unrest, which saw nearly 150 people jailed and over 800 brought before courts, gripped Paris and other cities including Lyon, Marseille, and Nice. It involved running battles between masked rioters and police, property destruction, and looting. The French government acknowledged that police had "lost control" during some incidents, and Macron vowed to be "uncompromising" towards "agitators from ultra-left fringe groups."

A report in the UK's Financial Times suggests that European Union regulators are investigating potential foreign online interference and disinformation campaigns surrounding the French riots, as well as similar unrest in other EU states. Unnamed security officials cited in the report indicate that pro-Russian and far-right social media accounts, previously involved in disinformation efforts, have disseminated violent videos to exacerbate chaos. Iran and Algeria are also suspected of involvement in some messaging.

David Colon, a disinformation researcher at France's Sciences Po university, noted that "pro-Kremlin influencers" linked to the Russian campaign Storm-1516 have amplified the events and spread false narratives. France's strong support for Ukraine in its war with Russia and strained relations with Iran are cited as potential factors in these suspected campaigns. BBC Verify has identified over 15 AI-generated fake news videos circulating on social media, attributed to a Russian disinformation operation known as Matryoshka, which mimic the branding of legitimate French news outlets.

Separately, BBC Verify traced a viral AI-generated image depicting an elderly couple being robbed to Infos-Israel.News director Sabrina Hania. Hania stated the image was created using ChatGPT and posted on October 17, shortly after a French journalist reported an unconfirmed incident based on police information. While initially labeled as AI-generated on social media, the image was later shared without disclaimers, accumulating millions of views. Hania expressed regret over the image being taken out of context and misleading people, blaming those who reshared it without proper attribution.