In brief
French President Emmanuel Macron has singled out Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump for allegedly exploiting the nationwide riots for electoral advantage. Macron also accused foreign commentators of spreading AI‑generated videos that inflamed tensions, while France’s police have arrested 150 people and charged more than 800 over the unrest. European regulators are now probing a broader online interference campaign linked to disinformation, with reports pointing to pro‑Russian, Iranian and Algerian actors. A viral AI‑made image of an elderly couple in Paris has been traced back to an Israeli website, further fueling concerns over misinformation. The French government vows an uncompromising response to the violence and the ongoing mistrust generated by disinformation.
French President Emmanuel Macron, speaking in Doha, accused unnamed foreign leaders of exploiting the nationwide rioting for their own electoral ambitions. He singled out Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump as examples, suggesting their rhetoric was aimed at capitalising on France’s unrest.
Macron said that foreign commentators had shared fake videos generated by artificial intelligence, which the French government found to be part of a broader disinformation campaign. The video clips depicting masked rioters battling police and looted shops went viral, which he argued inflamed tensions further.
Since the outbreaks in cities such as Paris, Lille, Lyon, Marseille and Nice, France has jailed nearly 150 people and charged over 800 in court. Their authorities blamed “ultra‑left fringe groups” for much of the violence and pledged an uncompromising response.
EU regulators are now probing online interference linked to the riots, with reports pointing to pro‑Russian and far‑right accounts that repeated sensational footage. The investigation also looks at possible Iranian and Algerian involvement, while U.S. experts trace some viral images to a Russian disinformation operation called “Matryoshka.”
Meanwhile, a widely‑shared AI‑generated image showing an elderly couple robbed in Paris was traced back to a website run by an Israeli news outlet. The picture, produced using ChatGPT with no reference, was disseminated without a disclosure and amassed over six million views, undermining public trust further.
