President Emmanuel Macron has hit back at foreign leaders who, he says, are exploiting France's recent unrest to score political points at home. Speaking in Doha on Wednesday, Macron dismissed what he called "unacceptable and even stupid comments" about the riots that swept French cities over the weekend, in an apparent rebuke of US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"There are people who campaign at France's expense — leaders who are in campaign mode, whether here in the region or on the other side of the Atlantic," Macron told reporters during his state visit to Qatar. His remarks came after a weekend of mass demonstrations that, while largely peaceful, were overshadowed by looting and clashes with police in several urban centres.
The French president also rejected suggestions that foreign interference had stoked the violence, pointing instead to what he described as "subsequent foreign manipulation of information, which led to equally unacceptable and stupid comments from many people, including foreign leaders." He singled out the spread of AI-generated fake videos and false narratives, noting that "we have people who explained that we had been invaded by hordes of migrants and Islamists."
Trump, who is gearing up for the US midterm elections, has sought to frame the French unrest as a warning for America. On Monday, he claimed France was "under siege, looted and set ablaze by migrants, jihadists and communists," and suggested that a Democratic victory would bring similar chaos to the United States. Macron's comments appear to be a direct response to such rhetoric, which he believes distorts the reality of the protests.
"In these moments, we see who loves France and who doesn't," Macron said, adding that France already faces enough domestic challenges without external voices inflaming the situation. He stressed that the vast majority of demonstrators had marched peacefully, and that the violence was the work of a minority.
Emergency measures and a call for responsibility
Macron announced that he would convene an emergency meeting with ministers and intelligence officials on Thursday to get a "detailed account" of the events of 17 October, when the worst violence erupted. The government has already acknowledged that it lost control of the situation that day, and a "roadmap" of measures — including curfews and restrictions on mass gatherings — has been put in place ahead of planned protests on 24 October.
"People who want to wreak disorder in city centres on Saturday will be prevented," Macron vowed, while also underlining the importance of dialogue with unions and political forces. "Everyone needs to hold responsibility in this context. There were too many ambiguities. People explaining that some forms of legitimate violence existed: no, there is no legitimate violence."
He added: "The beginning of violence is a justification for what follows. In a democracy, nothing justifies violence."
The unrest has put Macron under intense pressure at home, with critics accusing his government of mishandling the protests. The violence has also fueled a broader debate about immigration and security, themes that Trump has eagerly seized upon. Macron's visit to Qatar is part of a three-day Gulf tour aimed at securing energy supplies for France, which is grappling with a severe cost-of-living crisis that has added to public discontent.
As France braces for another weekend of demonstrations, Macron's message is clear: he will not tolerate foreign interference, nor will he allow violence to undermine the country's democratic order. Whether his emergency measures will be enough to prevent further chaos remains to be seen.
