Macron accuses foreign leaders of exploiting French riots for election gain

French President Emmanuel Macron accused unnamed foreign leaders of exploiting France's weekend riots for electoral gain, criticizing their comments as "unacceptable and stupid" during a Middle East visit. He implied Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump, both facing upcoming elections, were campaigning "at France's expense." Macron said the leaders were influenced by AI-generated fake videos about the violence, which erupted alongside cost-of-living protests. Nearly 150 people have been jailed and over 800 brought before courts, with the government admitting police "lost control" during clashes in Paris, Lyon, Marseille, and Nice. Netanyahu had claimed France faced an "invasion of extremist Islam," while Trump blamed mass immigration, urging France to "close your borders." BBC Verify traced a viral AI image of an elderly couple being robbed to a website, whose creator said it was made with ChatGPT and regretted its misleading spread.