Macron publicly criticized Trump for using the French riots to build momentum for the midterm elections.

BlockBeats news, October 22: French President Emmanuel Macron, during a visit to Qatar on Wednesday, publicly criticized Trump and other foreign leaders for exploiting recent violent riots in France to attack immigration and using the opportunity to advance their own political agendas.

Macron stated that there is no evidence of foreign interference or incitement in the French riots, but subsequent foreign information manipulation did occur, leading leaders from multiple countries to make what he called "unacceptable and foolish" remarks. Macron explicitly pointed out that "Trump is among them," adding, "We have seen some AI-generated images showing scenes that never happened in France. Some also claimed that France was invaded by hordes of immigrants and Islamists, which is completely false."

Macron also lashed out at those "in certain regions of France, or across the Atlantic, who use our situation to campaign for themselves," saying, "These people make me very angry."

Trump's Republican Party is just two weeks away from the U.S. midterm elections. Since the French demonstrations escalated into riots last Saturday, Trump has repeatedly cited violent incidents and images of looting and vandalism in France, attempting to link the events to immigration policy. Trump also warned American voters to "take a look at France," and claimed that "Paris will soon be a Muslim city." These remarks connect France's domestic unrest with the U.S. immigration policy debate, but French police have not clearly identified the riots as being related to immigrants or Islamist radicals.