Covert Russian network exploited French riots on social media, EU report says

Protesters hold smoke flares during a demonstration in Paris on Nov. 7. | REUTERS

Reuters

Nov 10, 2026

NEW YORK/PARIS – 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.

A separate internal assessment, compiled by France’s foreign ministry, found that social media accounts linked to Israel and to the U.S. MAGA movement also pushed “hostile narratives” around the riots, connecting them to radical Islamism and migration.

Taken together, the assessments offer an insight into how external actors have been trying to use France’s domestic turmoil for their own political ends, according to analysis by European disinformation specialists.

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