EU Assessment Says Russian Network Exploited French Unrest

An internal European Union assessment says a covert Russian-linked network used social media to exploit unrest in France by spreading false claims about immigration and security, while finding no evidence that foreign actors started or escalated the protests.

The assessment identifies the network as Operation Overload and says it circulated videos impersonating Western media outlets to reach French audiences. The videos included false claims that migrants had raped protesters and that terrorist attacks were imminent. The report, covering October 7 to 21, describes the activity as taking advantage of existing unrest rather than causing it.

The demonstrations began over rising living costs and deteriorating public services. The EU assessment says the network also sought to portray the French government as losing control and to deepen fears over immigration and security. Reuters said it could not independently verify the claims in the EU assessment.

A separate assessment by France’s foreign ministry reported that accounts linked to the US MAGA movement and Israel also circulated narratives about the unrest, including claims connecting it to radical Islamism and migration. The...