Macron accuses foreign leaders of exploiting French riots

Fonte da imagem, AFP via Getty ImagesLegenda, Protestantes se reuniram em Lille junto com outras cidades do país.

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O presidente francês Emmanuel Macron acusou líderes estrangeiros de explorar os distúrbios que eclodiram em todo o país no sábado para fins eleitorais.

Without naming them, he said they were campaigning for forthcoming elections "at France's expense" with their comments on the violence, which erupted on the fringe of cost-of-living protests.

Speaking on a visit to the Middle East, he referred to them as "leaders who are in campaign mode, whether here in the region or on the other side of the Atlantic.

It was an apparent swipe at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces parliamentary elections next week, and US President Donald Trump, for whom mid-term polls fall next month.

Macron disse que os líderes não identificados foram influenciados por vídeos falsos gerados por IA sobre as riadas.

Quase 150 pessoas foram presas e mais de 800 foram levadas aos tribunais desde os tumultos que assolaram Paris e outras cidades, incluindo Lyon, Marselha e Nice.

Video of running battles between masked rioters and police, as well as property being destroyed and stores being looted, spread across social media.

O governo admitiu que a polícia havia 'perdido o controle' durante a violência, que ocorreu após semanas de protestos de estudantes sobre as condições nas escolas de ensino médio.

Macron vowed afterwards that the authorities would be "uncompromising" towards "agitators from ultra-left fringe groups", which he blamed for much of the trouble.

Speaking in the Qatari capital Doha, the French president said: "For me, there is no visible foreign interference in the events that took place. On the other hand, there was foreign manipulation of information afterwards, yes, and that gave rise to unacceptable and stupid comments from many people, including foreign leaders.

Tivemos pessoas alegando que havíamos sido invadidos por hordas de migrantes e islamistas, o que é completamente falso.

On Tuesday, Netanyahu said in an interview for Israel's i24 channel, external that France, which has Western Europe's largest Muslim minority, had been hit by an "invasion of extremist Islam.

He said he had told Macron after the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October 2023: "If we do not eliminate them here, you will have them in Paris." "That is exactly what is happening," he added.

Também na terça-feira, Trump culpou as riadas pela imigração em massa para a França.

When I look at France, when you look at Italy, when you look at all the turmoil and the hatred, that's not about school," he said. "That's about people coming into the countries that hate the country.

Close your borders and take control before it is too late!" he said in remarks directed at Macron.

Segundo um relatório do jornal Financial Times do Reino Unido, reguladores externos da UE estão examinando possíveis interferências online estrangeiras e campanhas de desinformação em torno das revoltas na França e de recentes tumultos semelhantes em estados da UE.

It quotes unnamed security officials as saying that pro-Russian and far-right social media accounts linked to previous disinformation campaigns have spread violent videos in an attempt to sow more chaos.

Irã e Argélia também são suspeitos de estarem por trás de parte das mensagens, acrescenta o jornal.

David Colon, a researcher at France's Sciences Po university who specialises in disinformation, was quoted as saying that "pro-Kremlin influencers" linked to the Russian campaign Storm-1516 had "amplified the events and spread a number of false narratives.

France is one of Ukraine's most vociferous military supporters in its ongoing war with Russia, while Algeria is a former French colony with bitter memories of its war to achieve independence in 1962, and French relations with Iran have been strained by its war with the US and Israel this year.

BBC Verify has reviewed more than 15 examples of fake news videos on social media which researchers at the US-based dTeam say are the work of a Russian disinformation operation known as Matryoshka.

Os vídeos apresentam uma marca quase idêntica à de veículos de notícias reais na França, incluindo Le Monde, Euronews e France 24.

O impacto individual e o alcance dos vídeos produzidos pela Matryoshka parecem ser limitados, mas especialistas disseram que o foco em amplificar a agitação é consistente com as táticas de desinformação russa conhecidas.

Separadamente, o BBC Verify identificou uma das imagens geradas por IA mais virais que circulam nas redes sociais, que supostamente mostra um casal idoso sendo assaltado e deixado de roupa íntima em Paris, em um site obscuro.

It was posted shortly after a television journalist reported on the alleged incident, citing "police information". The claim remains unconfirmed, with French media reporting that prosecutors have no information supporting it having happened.

Hania said she regretted that the image had been taken out of context and had misled so many people, blaming those who reshared it without identifying it as AI-generated.