In brief
While visiting Doha, Macron warned that leaders in Israel and the US were using the nation‑wide protests for political gain, alleging they spread AI‑forged videos to inflame tension. EU regulators now investigate foreign disinformation campaigns tied to the unrest. France faces court cases against hundreds of rioters and struggles with false claims linking migrants to the violence. Meanwhile, an AI‑created image about an elderly couple robbed in Paris went viral without a disclaimer, prompting scrutiny from BBC Verify.
French President Emmanuel Macron says that foreign politicians are exploiting the country’s nationwide protests for their own electional gains.
While in Doha, he accused unnamed leaders—including Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu and the US’s Donald Trump—of spewing commentary that
"epitomises political jockeying" after the lunch‑week riots that erupted in cities such as Paris, Lille, Lyon and Marseille.
Macron also pointed the finger at a wave of AI‑generated videos and images that were shared on social media. The clips, according to a Financial Times report, were produced by pro‑Kremlin and far‑right accounts and designed to inflame the unrest.
EU regulators are now examining the campaign, while France says it remains a staunch supporter of Ukraine in its war with Russia. The country also faces rising claims that migrants and "islamists" were blamed for the violence—a narrative dismissed as false by Macron.
BBC Verify traced one viral image—purportedly of an elderly couple robbed in Paris—to an Instagram account that allegedly used ChatGPT to create the scene. The picture, shared without an AI disclaimer, has already gathered millions of views.
Meanwhile, court proceedings have taken in nearly 150 defendants and more than 800 people have appeared before judges in the aftermath of the riots.
Macron vowed that the police would act with zero tolerance toward "ultra‑left fringe" agitators, calling the violence a "reaction forced by living conditions and a climate of frustration."
