Macron accuses foreign leaders of exploiting French riots

French President Emmanuel Macron accuses foreign leaders of exploiting the country's street unrest for political gain.

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French President Emmanuel Macron has accused foreign leaders of making 'stupid comments' about France's street unrest for political gain, as the country prepares for more protests this weekend.

Speaking during a visit to Qatar, Macron did not name names but said 'manipulation of information' after Saturday's riots had led to 'comments that are as unacceptable as they are stupid, from many people, including foreign leaders'.

The US president, Donald Trump, has blamed France's violence on 'migrants, jihadists and communists' as he campaigns for his Republican party before midterm elections.

Macron told reporters in Doha that some leaders 'in the middle of election campaigns, whether here in the region or on the other side of the Atlantic' were 'naively spreading narratives that certain circles are clearly trying to promote'.

They were 'using our country for their own political campaigns', the French president said. 'And we don't need that. We already have difficulties to deal with.'

Macron also mentioned that AI-generated images were circulating 'depicting scenes that never actually happened in France'. He said people were claiming that France was invaded by hordes of migrants and Islamists, which is completely false.

The unrest has prompted several countries to issue travel warnings for France and rattled already nervous financial markets, with the yield on the French government's benchmark 10-year bonds passing 5% on Wednesday, its highest since 2002.