Media: Russia exploited protests in France to discredit government
A covert Russian network attempted to exploit recent mass riots in France by using social media to spread disinformation and discredit the French government.
As reported by Reuters, according to an analysis by disinformation experts from the EU's diplomatic service, the Russian information campaign sought to blame the crisis on uncontrolled immigration and create the impression that Paris had completely lost control of the situation.
A separate internal analysis prepared by the French Foreign Ministry, also seen by Reuters, found that social media accounts linked to Israel and the US MAGA movement had also spread hostile narratives about the riots, linking them to radical Islamism and migration.
Taken together, the assessments provide insight into how foreign actors sought to exploit domestic unrest in France to advance their own political agendas, according to European disinformation experts.
The EU analysis found that a covert Russian network known as Operation Overload had circulated videos disguised as reports from Western media outlets in an attempt to influence French audiences. Some falsely claimed that migrants had raped protesters or that terrorist attacks were imminent.
The EU analysis, covering the period from 7 to 21 October, found that Russia had sought to "depict the French leadership as weak and increasingly authoritarian".
"Such events offer opportunities to undermine national governments, fuel fear and division, and shape public perceptions ahead of elections," the restricted EU document, prepared by disinformation experts from the bloc's diplomatic service, stated.
The analysis found no evidence that Moscow or other actors had instigated or escalated the protests, describing their activities instead as "opportunistic exploitation of the unrest".
According to the French Foreign Ministry's assessment, the 10 most-viewed posts on X about the riots from "pro-Russian spheres" attracted 2.8 million views between 16 and 18 October. However, these figures were dwarfed by the number of views generated by posts about the riots from accounts linked to the MAGA movement, as well as Israeli officials and influencers.
The French ministry's report found that the 10 most-viewed posts on X (Twitter) about the French riots by MAGA-linked officials, media outlets and influencers attracted more than 49 million views between 16 and 18 October.
During the same period, the 10 most-viewed posts by Israeli officials, government accounts, media outlets and influencers attracted more than 35 million views, the French report said.
During the largest protests on 17 October, numerous incidents of violence and looting were reported across France. In the city of Limoges, protesters set fire to the town hall, destroying the building. More than 2,000 people were arrested nationwide in connection with the mass protests.