Russia exploited violent riots in France to spread fake claims about migrant assaults and terrorist attacks, seeking to fuel anti-immigration sentiment, deepen social divisions and undermine President Emmanuel Macron’s government.
It found that the 10 most-viewed posts on X from accounts associated with pro-Russian circles received 2.8 million views between October 16 and 18. However, the figures measured the reach of the 10 most-viewed posts in each category and did not establish coordination between the different groups. French President Emmanuel Macron acknowledged the threat of foreign information manipulation on October 21, although he said there had been no visible foreign interference behind the protests.
A covert Russian-linked network known as Operation Overload circulated fabricated videos impersonating western media outlets to exploit the unrest, according to an internal European Union assessment reviewed by Reuters. The EU assessment said Russia sought to “depict the French leadership as weak and increasingly authoritarian”. These accounts pushed narratives associating the unrest with migration and radical Islamism, according to the French assessment.
The report found that the operation sought to portray French leadership as weak and increasingly authoritarian. It also highlighted how such campaigns exploit domestic instability to fuel fear, division and distrust in democratic institutions. A separate assessment by France’s foreign ministry examined the reach of social media narratives pushed by Russian, Israeli-linked and MAGA-linked accounts during the unrest.
Russian foreign ministry Maria Zakharova had previously rejected French allegations of Russian disinformation, accusing French authorities of using such claims to manipulate public opinion.