France entered a new week under curfews and heavy police deployment after a weekend of rioting that saw town halls burned, statues defaced and police officers assaulted. Officials expect more unrest as further protests are planned.
Rather than address the violence from home, French President Emmanuel Macron used a stop on a four-country Middle East trip, speaking from Qatar, to criticize foreign leaders for their reaction to the riots, including remarks made by President Donald Trump.
Macron claimed there was no “visible foreign interference” in the riots, but alleged “foreign manipulation of information” in their aftermath. He said the unrest produced “unacceptable and downright stupid comments from many people, including foreign leaders.”
“That is to say we’ve seen AI-generated images showing scenes that have never taken place in France,” Macron said. “We have people claiming we were overrun by hordes of migrants and Islamists, which is completely untrue.” He added that people “naively repeat” content generated by artificial intelligence.
The riots included footage of the Limoges town hall and the Lyon tourist office on fire. Video also showed the foundation of the Monument de la République being torn up and used as ammunition against police, officers being assaulted, and a Palestinian flag placed on the Joan of Arc statue. Communist and Palestinian flags were visible throughout the unrest.
Macron left France for his Middle East trip while rioting was still underway. The night before the worst of the violence, he attended a Celine Dion concert with his wife rather than taking part in meetings ahead of what was widely anticipated to be a difficult Saturday.
Earlier in the week, Macron had said young people involved in the unrest had “legitimate concerns,” a comment made before the riots intensified.
