A covert Russian network used social media to exploit last month's riots in France, blaming the unrest on uncontrolled immigration and saying the government had lost control, according to an internal European Union assessment seen by Reuters.

The assessment, which covers 7 to 21 October, found that the network known as Operation Overload spread videos impersonating Western media outlets to French audiences, some falsely claiming that migrants had raped protesters or that terrorist attacks were imminent. It found no evidence that Moscow or any other actor instigated or escalated the protests.

Foreign accounts amplified the unrest

A separate assessment compiled by France's foreign ministry, also seen by Reuters, found that accounts linked to Israel and to the US MAGA movement also pushed material about the unrest. The ten most-viewed posts on the unrest on X from MAGA-linked officials, media outlets and influencers drew more than 49 million views between 16 and 18 October, while the ten most-viewed posts from Israeli officials, government accounts, media outlets and influencers drew more than 35 million views in the same period.

Operation Overload has been active since September 2023, according to the EU document, and has targeted public figures, institutions and media outlets in the West. France's disinformation watchdog Viginum published a detailed report on the operation and similar Russian campaigns in 2024. Reuters said it was not able to independently verify the assertions made in either the French or the EU report.

President Emmanuel Macron said on 21 October that there had been no visible foreign interference behind the protests themselves, but that foreign manipulation of information had followed them. An Alliance4Europe study of the October unrest, published on 21 October, reached a similar conclusion: foreign actors amplified public anger, but no evidence put a foreign actor behind the origin of the protests.