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A covert Russian-linked network sought to exploit last month’s riots in France by spreading social media content blaming the unrest on uncontrolled immigration and portraying the government as losing control, according to an internal EU assessment seen by Reuters.
A separate French Foreign Ministry assessment found that accounts linked to Israel and the U.S. MAGA movement also pushed what it called “hostile narratives” connecting the riots to migration and radical Islamism.
The EU report said there was no evidence that Russia or other outside actors instigated or escalated the unrest, describing the activity instead as the “opportunistic exploitation of unrest.”
The EU assessment said a Russian-linked network known as “Operation Overload” circulated videos impersonating Western media outlets, including false claims that migrants had raped protesters or that terrorist attacks were imminent.
The network also sought to depict French leaders as weak and increasingly authoritarian.
Riots erupted across France last month after demonstrations over rising living costs and declining public services descended into major violence.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry did not respond to a request for comment. Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova previously rejected French allegations of Russian disinformation.
The French assessment found that the 10 most-viewed X posts from “pro-Russian spheres” received 2.8 million views from Oct. 16-18.
By comparison, the 10 most-viewed posts from MAGA-linked officials, media outlets and influencers drew more than 49 million views, while posts from Israeli officials, government accounts, media outlets and influencers received more than 35 million.
Reuters said it could not independently verify claims made in either assessment.
French President Emmanuel Macron said Oct. 21 there had been no visible foreign interference behind the protests but that there had been “foreign manipulation of information.”
The EU report said Operation Overload has been active since September 2023 and has targeted Western public figures, institutions and media outlets while promoting content aligned with Russian interests.
It said the campaign also sought to undermine European support for Ukraine by claiming governments prioritized Kyiv over domestic problems.
The Institute for Strategic Dialogue has described Operation Overload as a high-volume Russian information operation that impersonates trusted sources, creates fake news-style videos, uses AI-generated voices and manipulates images to exploit political crises and debates.
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