Internal analyses by the European Union and the French Foreign Ministry found that foreign-linked social-media accounts sought to exploit last month’s unrest in France by spreading misleading narratives. An alleged Russian network promoted claims that uncontrolled immigration caused the unrest and that the French government had lost control, while posing as Western media and sharing false claims about migrants and planned attacks. The EU analysis found no evidence that Russia or other actors had provoked the protests themselves.

A separate French analysis said accounts linked to Israel and the US MAGA movement associated the unrest with radical Islamism and migration. French officials referred to President Emmanuel Macron’s statement that there was no visible foreign interference behind the protests, but that there had been foreign manipulation of information. Russia and Israel had not responded.