Paris: French President Emmanuel Macron has sharply criticised foreign leaders, including US President Donald Trump, for what he described as attempts to exploit the unrest sweeping France for political advantage, the Associated Press reported.
Speaking in Qatar on Wednesday after a tour of major energy suppliers in the Gulf, Macron said false information and manipulated content had circulated after last weekend’s rioting and looting in Paris and several other French cities.
“There has been foreign manipulation of information in the aftermath,” he said. “And that has led to comments that are as unacceptable as they are stupid, from many people, including foreign leaders.”
When a journalist asked whether his remarks were aimed at Trump, Macron answered: “Among others.”
Trump has seized on the violence, which erupted during protests against the rising cost of living, to energise his political base. He has alleged, without evidence, that Muslim migrants were behind the disorder, and publicly pressed Macron to act.
“Close your borders and take control before it is too late!” Trump said.
Macron rejected suggestions that France had been overwhelmed by migrants or Islamist groups, calling such accounts baseless.
“We’ve seen AI-generated images depicting scenes that never actually happened in France. We’ve had people claiming that we were invaded by hordes of migrants and Islamists, which is completely false,” he said.
The French president did not identify the images in question or explain how officials had established that they were fabricated.
Macron said leaders campaigning in elections — whether in Europe or “on the other side of the Atlantic” — had sometimes repeated AI-generated material without scrutiny or amplified narratives being pushed by particular groups.
“When I see leaders who are in the middle of election campaigns, whether in the region or on the other side of the Atlantic — who sometimes naively repeat AI-generated content or spread narratives that certain circles are clearly trying to promote about what happened in France — they’re using our country for their own political campaigns,” he said. “And we don’t need that.”
He added that those criticising France most loudly did not have the country’s interests at heart.
“The fact is, all the people who are speaking ill of our country right now are people who don’t love our country,” Macron said. “So those people really bother me.”
Macron’s comments came as his government sought to ease pressure from high energy prices. During his Middle East visit, France secured an extra 100,000 tonnes of diesel a month from the United Arab Emirates, while a further 100,000 tonnes from Bahrain is expected to be confirmed.
According to the Elysee, the arrangements could deliver nearly 295,000 additional tonnes of diesel monthly, including supplies from Saudi Arabia — amounting to more than 10 per cent of France’s monthly diesel consumption.
Macron and Trump once maintained a cordial relationship, but the US president has repeatedly mocked his French counterpart in public appearances.