As riots rock France, Shin Bet director holds high-level security talks in Paris

French President Emmanuel Macron has accused unnamed foreign leaders of exploiting recent riots in France for political gain ahead of their own elections. The unrest occurred after weeks of student protests over school conditions and escalated with masked rioters clashing with police and causing widespread destruction. Macron spoke about the situation during a visit to the Middle East, stating that the foreign leaders were "campaigning at France's expense" with their comments.

He specifically mentioned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is up for re-election next week, and US President Donald Trump, whose mid-term polls are approaching. Macron also suggested the foreign leaders had been influenced by AI-generated fake videos depicting the riots. Since the riots began, nearly 150 individuals have been imprisoned and over 800 have been courted.

Macron affirmed the police had lost control during the violence and vowed to be tough on "agitators from the ultra-left fringe groups" responsible for much of the trouble. Despite his assertion, Netanyahu referred to France as suffering from an "invasion of extremist Islam" and Trump blamed the riots on mass immigration to France.

The Financial Times reports that EU regulators are currently investigating potential foreign interference and disinformation campaigns surrounding the French riots and similar unrest in other EU countries. Experts highlight the use of pro-Kremlin influencers linked to the Russian disinformation operation Storm-1516 in amplifying the events and spreading false narratives.