Covert Russian Network Exploited French Riots on Social Media: EU Report

A covert Russian network used social media to blame France’s October riots on what it described as uncontrolled immigration and to portray the government as losing control, according to an internal European Union assessment seen by Reuters.

The network, known as Operation Overload, circulated videos that impersonated Western news outlets and targeted French audiences.

Some falsely claimed that migrants had raped protesters or that terrorist attacks were imminent, according to the assessment, which covered October 7 to 21.

The unrest began with demonstrations over rising living costs and deteriorating public services.

The EU’s diplomatic service found no evidence that Moscow or other foreign actors had started or escalated the protests.

French President Emmanuel Macron said on October 21 that there had been no visible foreign interference behind the protests, though he cited “foreign manipulation of information.”

Millions of Views on X

A separate French foreign ministry assessment seen by Reuters found that accounts linked to Israel and the U.S. MAGA movement also used the unrest to push narratives linking it to radical Islamism and migration.

Between October 16 and 18, the 10 most-viewed posts on X by MAGA-linked officials, media outlets and influencers drew more than 49 million views.

The 10 leading posts from Israeli officials, government accounts, media outlets and influencers drew more than 35 million.

The top 10 posts from pro-Russian circles drew 2.8 million, the French ministry found.

Reuters said it could not independently verify the claims in either assessment.

Russia’s foreign ministry, the Israeli prime minister’s office and Israel’s foreign ministry did not respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.

In August, Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova rejected separate French allegations of Russian disinformation targeting France’s 2027 elections.

Operation Overload’s Wider Campaign

The EU assessment said Operation Overload had been active since September 2023 and had sought to weaken European support for Ukraine, including by claiming governments were putting Ukraine ahead of domestic concerns.

The Institute for Strategic Dialogue has documented the network’s use of AI to clone experts’ voices, as well as forged headlines and manipulated images.

France’s disinformation watchdog, Viginum, detailed Operation Overload and similar Russian operations in a 2024 report.

Elina Treyger, a senior political scientist at the RAND Corporation, said such campaigns can gradually shape perceptions of Western democracies and feed an anti-immigrant backlash that pushes voters toward political extremes.