EU says covert Russian network exploited France riots with disinformation

A covert Russian network sought to exploit last month's riots in France by using social media to blame the unrest on uncontrolled immigration and portray the government as having lost control, according to an internal EU assessment seen by Reuters.

The EU analysis, covering October 7 to 21, found that Russia sought to depict the French leadership as weak and increasingly authoritarian. It described the activity as opportunistic exploitation of unrest and found no evidence that Moscow or other actors instigated or escalated the protests.

“Such events offer opportunities to undermine national governments, fuel fear and division, and shape public perceptions ahead of elections.”

The network known as Operation Overload spread videos impersonating Western media outlets to target French audiences. Some videos falsely claimed migrants had raped protesters or that terrorist attacks were imminent.

A separate internal assessment by France's foreign ministry found that social media accounts linked to Israel and the US MAGA movement also pushed hostile narratives around the riots, linking them to radical Islamism and migration.

Rioting erupted in cities across France last month as demonstrations against rising living costs and declining public services spiralled out of control in some of the worst violence the country has witnessed for decades.

The Russian foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment. In August, spokesperson Maria Zakharova rejected allegations by a French state watchdog agency of spreading disinformation about France's 2027 elections.