Macron Calls Trump’s Remarks On Muslim Migrants Causing French Riots ‘Stupid’

French President Emmanuel Macron has described comments by US President Donald Trump on the recent riots in France as “unacceptable” and “stupid”, accusing foreign leaders of exploiting the country’s unrest for political gain.

Macron made the remarks on Wednesday while condemning what he described as foreign manipulation of information following a weekend of violence and looting in Paris and other French cities.

Trump had used the unrest to rally his political supporters, making unsubstantiated claims that Muslim migrants were responsible for the violence and urging Macron to “close your borders and take control before it is too late!”

Responding to the comments, Macron said foreign actors had sought to exploit France’s tense social climate by spreading misleading narratives about the unrest.

“There has been foreign manipulation of information in the aftermath” of the looting, he said, adding that the situation had prompted “comments that are as unacceptable as they are stupid, from many people, including foreign leaders.”

When a reporter asked whether he was referring to Trump, Macron replied, “Among others.”

The French president also raised concerns about the circulation of artificial intelligence-generated images allegedly depicting scenes that never occurred in France.

“We’ve had people claiming that we were invaded by hordes of migrants and Islamists, which is completely false,” he said.

Macron did not identify the specific AI-generated images he was referring to or explain how the content had been verified.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said his office was prepared to provide clarification to the countries concerned to prevent the spread of misinformation.

He said the aim was “to help them avoid spreading or amplifying false information and making baseless claims on social media.”

Macron accused some foreign leaders of repeating misleading information about France, particularly those seeking political advantage during election campaigns.

“When I see leaders who are in the middle of election campaigns, whether in the region or on the other side of the Atlantic — who sometimes naively repeat AI-generated content or spread narratives that certain circles are clearly trying to promote about what happened in France — they’re using our country for their own political campaigns,” he said.

“And we don’t need that.”

He also criticised those speaking negatively about France amid the unrest, saying, “The fact is, all the people who are speaking ill of our country right now are people who don’t love our country. So those people really bother me.”

The riots followed protests over soaring living costs and drew international attention, with incidents of looting and violence shocking many French citizens.

Macron’s comments highlight growing concerns over the use of misinformation and AI-generated content to influence public perceptions of political and social crises.

Relations between Macron and Trump, who once enjoyed a cordial relationship, have also been marked by public criticism, with the US president frequently mocking his French counterpart during speeches.