Russia weaponized French social protests against the EU and Ukraine — media

Russian Federation intelligence services and propaganda organizations deliberately exploited the October social protests in France to undermine European support for Ukraine and divide French society, according to a report by the organizations Alliance4Europe and EK Strategies. Source: EU Today

Researchers found that, in the weeks before the large-scale unrest began, Kremlin-linked information networks—including the “Doppelgänger” disinformation campaign and media platforms in the Pravda network—spread more than 600 coordinated messages in nine languages, garnering over 7.4 million views and promoting the narrative that financial and military aid to Kyiv was being funded by cutting social spending for French citizens.

Beyond retrospective propaganda, Russian organizations moved to directly coordinate and mobilize street unrest: Russia-linked channels published the dates and locations of planned rallies in advance, circulated instructions for blocking schools, and called for aggressive actions, including storming the French Ministry of Education building.

After the violence erupted, the disinformation machine turned its attention to international audiences, mass-producing fake stories about migrant-led riots and circulating AI-generated images, distorting foreign leaders’ perceptions of the crisis in France.

Although President Emmanuel Macron and the French government emphasize that domestic economic problems—not the direct organization of unrest from abroad—were the root cause of the protests, the large-scale information interference turned a domestic crisis into an instrument of geopolitical pressure on Paris.

In response to these hybrid threats, French authorities deployed 70,000 police officers and gendarmes to maintain order and submitted more than 100 priority requests under the European Digital Services Act (DSA), resulting in hundreds of provocative accounts being blocked. Analysts warn that, as the 2027 presidential election approaches, such Kremlin hybrid operations pose a long-term threat to the entire European security system.

Recall that in France, large-scale demonstrations against President Emmanuel Macron’s economic policies escalated into street clashes with police, during which protesters set off flares, smashed shop windows, and threw rocks at law enforcement officers. In response, Paris police used tear gas and water cannons to clear the central squares.