French President Emmanuel Macron has accused several foreign leaders of exploiting recent riots in France for their own electoral gain. Speaking during a visit to Doha, Qatar, the president claimed these leaders were campaigning at France's expense by commenting on the violence that broke out alongside cost-of-living protests. While he did not name specific individuals, his remarks appeared directed at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump, both of whom face upcoming elections.
Macron stated that these leaders were influenced by AI-generated misinformation regarding the unrest. "For me, there is no visible foreign interference in the events that took place. On the other hand, there was foreign manipulation of information afterwards, yes, and that gave rise to unacceptable and stupid comments from many people, including foreign leaders," he said. He specifically rejected claims that France had been "invaded by hordes of migrants and Islamists," labeling such assertions as entirely false.
Netanyahu had previously suggested in an interview that France was suffering from an "invasion of extremist Islam," while Trump attributed the riots to mass immigration, urging the French government to "close your borders and take control." The violence, which saw clashes between police and rioters in cities including Paris, Lyon, Marseille, and Nice, has resulted in nearly 150 jail sentences and over 800 court appearances. The government has acknowledged that police lost control during the peak of the disturbances, which Macron blamed on ultra-left agitators.
Beyond political commentary, there are concerns regarding organized disinformation. According to the Financial Times, EU regulators are investigating potential foreign online interference. Researchers and security officials have pointed to pro-Russian social media accounts and campaigns like "Storm-1516" and "Matryoshka" for amplifying violent content and spreading false narratives. These operations have utilized videos mimicking established French media outlets such as Le Monde and France 24.
One viral AI-generated image, which depicted an elderly couple being robbed in Paris, was traced to the website Infos-Israel.News. The site's director, Sabrina Hania, confirmed the image was created using ChatGPT. Although the original post was labeled as AI-generated, it was later shared on social media without that disclaimer, garnering over six million views. French prosecutors have stated they have no evidence that the incident depicted in the image actually occurred.
