These protests, sparked by a rapid increase in the cost of living, escalated into widespread riots and looting across the country. The controversy heightened with former U.S. President Donald Trump's statements, who used violence to mobilize his political supporters. Trump made unfounded claims that Muslim migrants were responsible for the riots and urged Macron to "close your borders and take control before it's too late!"
Macron responded by pointing out that "there has been foreign manipulation of information" following the looting in Paris and other French cities. He emphasized that this has led to "comments as unacceptable as they are stupid, from many people, including foreign leaders." When asked by a reporter if he was referring to Trump, Macron replied, "Among others." The French president specifically denounced the existence of "AI-generated images showing scenes that never actually happened in France." Additionally, he emphatically denied claims that "we were invaded by hordes of migrants and Islamists," labeling them as "completely false." However, Macron did not specify which AI-generated images he was referring to or how he knew the content was false.
The French president expressed deep frustration with those who "speak ill of our country." He stated that "all the people who are speaking ill of our country at this moment are people who do not love our country." He harshly criticized leaders who are "in the midst of an election campaign," whether in the region or across the Atlantic, who "sometimes naively repeat content generated by AI or spread narratives that certain circles are clearly trying to promote about what happened in France." According to Macron, these leaders "are using our country for their own political campaigns," and he emphasized, "And we do not need that." Although Macron and Trump had a good relationship in the past, Trump regularly mocks the French president in his public speeches.