Macron Rejects Claims That Muslim Migrants Drove French Riots, Faulting Foreign Leaders

French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday accused foreign leaders, including U.S. President Donald Trump, of exploiting unrest in France for their own political ends and spreading false claims about who was behind it. The protests, which began over soaring living costs, led to rioting and looting in Paris and other French cities last weekend, ABC News reported.

Macron spoke in Qatar at the end of a tour of Gulf energy suppliers. The same trip, his office said, was aimed at easing an energy crisis that is pushing prices higher.

What Macron said in Qatar

Macron said information about the aftermath of the looting had been manipulated from abroad, which in his words produced comments that were “as unacceptable as they are stupid.” Asked by a reporter whether he meant Trump, he answered: “Among others.”

He pointed to AI-generated images showing scenes that never happened in France. He also rejected claims that the country had been overrun by hordes of migrants and Islamists, calling them completely false. According to ABC, Macron did not say which images he meant or how he knew the content was fabricated.

The French president said he was bothered by leaders in the middle of election campaigns, in the region or across the Atlantic, who repeat AI-generated content or promote narratives that certain circles want to push about France. He said they were using the country for their own campaigns, and that France did not need that. He added that people who speak ill of France now do not love it.

The claims about Muslim migrants

ABC reported that Trump has used the violence to rally his supporters, making unsubstantiated claims that Muslim migrants are responsible. Trump also urged Macron to secure the country’s borders and take control before it is too late. ABC noted that the two men once had a good relationship, but that Trump regularly mocks Macron in public speeches.

An Al Jazeera opinion column, published the same day, said the French far right quickly used racist language to blame Muslim youth for the violence. It also said Trump had described the situation as being about Islam wanting to take over. The column is the author’s argument, not a news report, and its characterizations reflect that view.

A European Parliament vote in the same week

The Al Jazeera column also drew attention to a separate step taken last week. The European Parliament passed a resolution calling for an EU strategy to counter what it terms Islamist entryism and the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood network. The centre-right European People’s Party tabled the text, and it passed with 381 votes in favor, 167 against and 15 abstentions.

The column’s author says the resolution is not binding, so EU member states do not have to implement it. The author argues that its framing puts Muslim organizations under suspicion and that it names groups such as the Brussels-based European Network Against Racism. That assessment is the columnist’s opinion. Al Jazeera’s piece did not link the vote directly to the French protests, and ABC did not mention it.

Why it matters: fuel supplies and a tense social climate

The dispute comes as France faces both public anger over living costs and pressure on energy supplies. Macron’s office said the Gulf trip was meant to find solutions to the energy crisis and rising energy prices, and to secure oil, gas, diesel and jet fuel.

ABC reported that Macron secured an additional 100,000 tonnes of diesel per month from the United Arab Emirates. A further 100,000 tonnes is still to be confirmed in Bahrain. The Elysee said nearly 295,000 additional tonnes of diesel per month could be secured in total, including volumes from Saudi Arabia. That would be equivalent to more than 10% of France’s monthly diesel consumption.

For readers following events in France, the statements show how the unrest has become part of a wider political argument. The French government says misinformation and AI-generated images are shaping how the riots are described abroad. Trump and others have linked the violence to Muslim migrants, a claim ABC described as unsubstantiated. How much of the Gulf diesel will actually arrive depends partly on the Bahrain volume, which had not yet been confirmed.

Around Prague, based on reporting by Al Jazeera, ABC News