Macron accuses foreign leaders of exploiting unrest in France for electoral gain

French President Emmanuel Macron accused unnamed foreign leaders of using the unrest in France to score pre-election points during a visit to the Middle East, saying their comments about the violence amounted to campaigning "at the expense of France".

Macron points to overseas politicians and disinformation

Macron said the remarks came from politicians who are running election campaigns abroad and suggested they had been influenced by fabricated videos created with artificial intelligence. "These are leaders who are in an election campaign, whether they are here in the region or on the other side of the Atlantic," he said.

The president’s comments were an apparent reference to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces parliamentary elections next week, and to US President Donald Trump, whose Republican allies are seeking to retain control of both chambers of Congress in the November midterm elections.

Macron added: "No foreign interference contributed to these events. There was subsequent foreign manipulation of information which led to equally unacceptable and stupid comments from many people, including from foreign leaders," underscoring his view that misleading footage had distorted the debate around the protests.

Nearly 150 people were arrested and more than 800 were brought before courts after disturbances erupted in Paris and other cities including Lyon, Marseille and Nice. Footage circulated on social media showed violent clashes between masked demonstrators and police, as well as property damage and looting.

The government has acknowledged that police lost control during the unrest, which followed weeks of student protests over conditions in secondary schools. Macron vowed authorities would be uncompromising toward "agitators from far-left marginal groups," whom he blamed for most of the violence.

Photo: DPA)