Macron condemns Trump and foreign leaders over ‘stupid’ French riot claims

French President Emmanuel Macron has lashed out at Donald Trump and other foreign politicians, calling their claims that recent violent unrest across France was caused by mass migration both false and “stupid”.

Speaking to reporters during an official visit to Doha, Qatar, Macron accused leaders abroad of using France’s domestic troubles to boost their own electoral campaigns. When asked directly whether his remarks were aimed at the US president, Macron replied: “Among others.”

“For me, there is no visible foreign interference in the events that took place,” Macron said. “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.”

Macron dismissed claims circulating online and abroad that France had been overrun. “We had people claiming that we had been invaded by hordes of migrants and Islamists, which is completely false,” he said, warning that politicians were naively echoing narratives spread by online agitators and fabricated artificial intelligence imagery.

What Trump and foreign leaders said

The diplomatic row follows comments Trump made on Tuesday linking France’s street violence directly to border policy ahead of upcoming US midterm elections.

“When I look at France, when you look at Italy, when you look at all the turmoil and the hatred, that's not about school,” Trump said. “That's about people coming into the countries that hate the country. Close your borders and take control before it is too late!”

Macron also appeared to target Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces an election next week. In a television interview on Tuesday, Netanyahu claimed France was experiencing an “invasion of extremist Islam”, asserting that he had previously warned Paris that violence would reach its streets if Islamist groups were not eliminated in the Middle East.

Unrest and disinformation at home

The political crossfire comes as France reels from severe disturbances that broke out last Saturday on the fringes of demonstrations over the cost of living and student conditions in high schools. Clashes between masked rioters and police erupted in Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Nice and Limoges, where the local town hall was set ablaze.

French authorities have jailed nearly 150 people and brought more than 800 before the courts. While the government admitted that police briefly lost control over the weekend, Macron rejected calls for a state of emergency, laying blame on ultra-left agitators rather than migrant communities.

Researchers and European regulators have pointed to coordinated online manipulation designed to heighten panic. Analysts identified pro-Kremlin networks deploying deceptive videos styled after established French news broadcasters, alongside AI-generated photographs falsely depicting muggings in Paris.

Pressure on the French government

The unrest has rattled European financial markets, pushing the yield on France’s benchmark 10-year bonds past 5% on Wednesday—its highest level since 2002.

With grassroots gilets jaunes demonstrators and student groups filing plans for fresh marches in Paris this weekend, and major trade unions calling for national mobilisation on 5 November, the French government has promised a massive security deployment to prevent further disorder.