European and French Documents Track Russian and Israeli Networks and 'MAGA' Accounts Exploiting France's Unrest

An internal European Union assessment, reviewed by Reuters, revealed that a secret Russian network sought to exploit the riots that erupted in France last month by using social media to blame uncontrolled migration for the unrest and portray the government as having lost control.

A separate internal assessment prepared by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and also reviewed by Reuters stated that social media accounts linked to Israel and the “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) movement also promoted “hostile narratives” about the riots, linking them to extremists and migration.

European disinformation specialists, in their analysis, said the two assessments together provide insight into how external actors attempt to exploit internal unrest in France to advance their own political agendas.

The EU analysis stated that a secret Russian network known as “Operation Overload” published videos impersonating Western media outlets to target the French public, with some falsely claiming that migrants had raped protesters or that terrorist attacks were imminent.

In August, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova rejected accusations by a French government regulatory agency that Russia had spread disinformation about the 2027 French elections, calling it “yet another trick used by authorities to manipulate public opinion.”

Riots broke out in various French cities last month after protests against rising living costs and the deterioration of public services spiraled out of control, marking one of the worst waves of violence the country has seen in decades.

The EU concluded in its analysis, which covered the period from October 7 to 21, that Russia sought to “portray the French leadership as weak and increasingly authoritarian.”

The European document, prepared by disinformation experts within the EU’s diplomatic service, added that “such events provide opportunities to undermine national governments, incite fear and division, and shape public opinion perceptions ahead of elections.”

Experts found no evidence that Moscow or other actors instigated or escalated the protests, describing these activities as “opportunistic exploitation of the unrest.”

The French Foreign Ministry’s assessment concluded that the top 10 most-viewed posts on the X platform about the unrest, originating from pro-Russian circles, garnered 2.8 million views between October 16 and 18.

However, these figures appear modest compared to the number of views achieved by X posts about the riots from accounts linked to the “Make America Great Again” movement, as well as Israeli officials and influencers.

The French ministry report noted that the top 10 most-viewed X posts about the unrest in France, published by officials, media outlets, and influencers linked to the US movement, received more than 49 million views between October 16 and 18.

The French report stated that the top 10 most-viewed posts, originating from Israeli officials, government accounts, media outlets, and influencers, received more than 35 million views during the same period.

Elena Trager, a senior political scientist at the RAND Corporation, said such campaigns launch a “narrative competition” that can, over time, shape how Western democracies in Europe and beyond are perceived.

In response to these reports, French officials pointed to comments made by President Emmanuel Macron, who stated on October 21 that there was no clear foreign interference behind the protests, but that there had been “foreign manipulation of information.”