Macron Accuses Foreign Leaders of Exploiting France's Riots for Election Gain

French President Emmanuel Macron accused unnamed foreign leaders on Wednesday of exploiting the riots that struck France on Saturday for their own election campaigns. Speaking in Doha, Qatar, he said they were making “unacceptable” and “stupid” comments, according to the BBC and The Guardian. Asked by reporters whether he meant Donald Trump, he replied: “Among others.”

The row comes as France braces for more protests this weekend, and as unrest has begun to unsettle financial markets and prompt travel warnings from several countries.

What Macron says

Macron said he saw no visible foreign interference in the events themselves, but that there was foreign manipulation of information afterward. He said some leaders, in the middle of election campaigns “in the region or on the other side of the Atlantic,” were naively repeating narratives that certain circles are trying to promote, and were using France for their own political campaigns.

He also pointed to AI-generated images of scenes that never happened in France, and rejected claims that the country had been overrun by hordes of migrants and Islamists, calling them completely false.

What Trump and Netanyahu have said

Trump blamed the violence on migrants, jihadists and communists, according to The Guardian, and the BBC reported that on Tuesday he tied the unrest to mass immigration to France. He said the turmoil was not about school but about people entering countries who hate them, and he urged Macron to close the borders. Trump is campaigning for his Republican party ahead of next month's U.S. midterm elections.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces parliamentary elections next week, said in an interview with Israel's i24 channel that France had been hit by an invasion of extremist Islam. The Guardian reported that analysts have dismissed claims that migrants were the main factor in the protests.

What researchers and reporters found about online claims

The Financial Times, as cited by the BBC, reported that EU regulators are examining possible foreign online interference around the riots and similar unrest in EU states. Unnamed security officials told the paper that pro-Russian and far-right accounts linked to earlier disinformation campaigns spread violent videos, and that Iran and Algeria are also suspected of being behind some of the messaging. David Colon, a disinformation researcher at Sciences Po, said pro-Kremlin influencers linked to a campaign known as Storm-1516 amplified the events and spread false narratives.

BBC Verify reviewed more than 15 fake news videos that researchers at dTeam attribute to a Russian operation called Matryoshka, which mimics the branding of outlets such as Le Monde, Euronews and France 24. Their reach appears limited. BBC Verify also traced a viral AI-generated image, purporting to show an elderly couple robbed in Paris, to a website whose director said her team made it with ChatGPT. The underlying claim remains unconfirmed, and French media report that prosecutors have no information supporting it.

What's at stake in France

The Guardian reported that largely peaceful cost-of-living demonstrations turned into violence and extensive looting, especially in Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Limoges, where the town hall was set on fire. The government has admitted police “lost control.” Nearly 150 people have been jailed and more than 800 brought before the courts, according to the BBC.

The French government’s benchmark 10-year bond yield passed 5% on Wednesday, its highest since 2002, The Guardian reported. Partial night-time curfews in cities including Paris, Marseille and Lille have brought relative calm and were expected to be renewed.

Police said protests would be banned in parts of Paris on Thursday. The gilets jaunes movement has filed plans for a march through central Paris on Saturday, and student groups have called protests the same day. The government has promised a “massive” security operation, with some troops expected alongside police. Macron said France does not need a state of emergency. France’s main trade unions have called a nationwide mobilization for Nov. 5.

The crisis has erupted six months before presidential elections to choose Macron's successor. The Guardian also reported that Italy has ordered 500 troops to Milan to stem street violence there.

Around Prague, based on reporting by BBC News, The Guardian