Russian network exploited France's October riots with fake videos, EU analysis says

What the EU analysis found

Reuters obtained an internal European Union analysis describing a covert Russian network that tried to exploit the riots that swept French cities in October. The network, called Operation Overload and also known as Matryoshka, spread videos styled as reporting from Western media outlets and aimed them at French audiences. Some clips falsely claimed that migrants had raped protesters or that terrorist attacks were imminent. The EU review, covering 7 to 21 October, concludes that Moscow sought to portray French leadership as weak and increasingly authoritarian. Its authors say such episodes create openings to undermine national governments and sow fear and division before elections.

The unrest began when protests against rising living costs and deteriorating public services slipped out of control in several cities, producing some of the gravest violence in France in decades. The EU document found no evidence that Moscow or other external actors had provoked or escalated the demonstrations. Instead, it describes the Russian activity as opportunistic exploitation of unrest that was already underway.

Accounts tied to Israel and the MAGA movement

A second document, an internal assessment by the French foreign ministry that Reuters also obtained, found that social media accounts linked to the MAGA movement and to Israel spread hostile narratives about the riots. Those accounts tied the unrest to radical Islamism and migration. The ministry's assessment covers 16 to 18 October. It puts the ten most-viewed MAGA-linked posts at more than 49 million views, while posts attributed to Israeli officials, institutions and influencers drew over 35 million. By comparison, the ten most-viewed pro-Russian posts totalled 2.8 million views.

The ministry's review of the 20 posts with the most views on X about the riots found they came from pro-Russian media or from accounts linked to MAGA and to Israeli officials.

MAGA-linked top ten posts (more than 49 million)49

Israel-linked officials, institutions, influencers (more than 35 million)35

Pro-Russian top ten posts2.8

MAGA-linked top ten posts (more than 49 million)

49 million views

Israel-linked officials, institutions, influencers (more than 35 million)

35 million views

Pro-Russian top ten posts

2.8 million views

Data from the article text

Denials and open questions

Russia's foreign ministry did not respond to Reuters' request for comment. In August, its spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, had rejected accusations from a French state oversight agency that Russia spreads disinformation about the 2027 elections in France. She argued that the accusations were one more tool authorities could use to shape public opinion. French officials referred Reuters to remarks made by President Emmanuel Macron on 21 October.

The EU analysis describes the Russian activity as an effort to influence how voters perceive the country ahead of the 2027 presidential election, not as the cause of the protests. Elina Treyger, a senior political scientist at the RAND Corporation, described campaigns of this kind as a prolonged contest over narratives. She said they can feed opposition to migration and push European voters toward political extremes.