Macron hits out at 'stupid comments from foreign leaders' in attack on Trump days after US president blamed riot chaos on mass migration

Emmanuel Macron has blasted what he called 'stupid comments' from foreign leaders over the protests sweeping France. 

The country has been ravaged by violent rioting and looting this month during nationwide protests against living costs and poor conditions in schools. 

The president's remarks come after Donald Trump blamed the unrest on mass migration, stating that France was being 'conquered, looted and burned to the ground by migrants, jihadists and communists who hate Christianity' and 'Western civilisation itself.'

Addressing the latest scenes of violence today, Macron said: 'There has been foreign manipulation of information afterwards - that is certain. 

'This led to unacceptable and downright stupid comments from many people, including foreign leaders. 

'We have seen artificial-intelligence-generated images showing scenes that never happened in France.

'People have claimed that we were invaded by hordes of migrants and Islamists, which is completely false. 

'The fact is that all those speaking ill of our country right now are people who don't love our country. And those people irritate me,' he added. 

'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,' said Macron. 'And we don't need that.' 

Asked by a reporter if he was referring to Trump, Macron replied: 'Among others.' 

Macron and Trump once enjoyed a good relationship, but Trump regularly mocks the French president in his public speeches.

Macron was speaking in Qatar at the end of a tour of key energy suppliers in Gulf Arab states, where he secured an additional 100,000 metric tons of diesel per month from the United Arab Emirates, with a further 100,000 tons to be confirmed in Bahrain.

Macron’s office said he travelled to the Middle East to find solutions to the energy crisis and rising energy prices, and to secure supplies of oil, gas, diesel and jet fuel.

The Élysée said nearly 295,000 additional tons of diesel per month could be secured, including volumes from Saudi Arabia, equivalent to more than 10% of France’s monthly diesel consumption.

As protests in France continue, fresh curfews were imposed across the city centres of Paris and Lyon on Tuesday after the first quiet night since France's most destructive rioting in years.

Paris police said the curfew in two designated zones — around Place de la République and the Les Halles shopping district — had restored 'public peace' overnight and would remain in place 'for as long as necessary.'

The curfew zones leave out other areas hit on Saturday, including the Champs-Elysées and the area around the Saint-Lazare train station and parts of the Rue de Turbigo in central Paris, where protesters set up barricades and lit fires.

In Lyon, one of France's largest cities, authorities also renewed a curfew in the city centre from 9pm to 6am, saying no disturbances had been recorded overnight.

Marseille, France's second-largest city, imposed a curfew for unaccompanied minors starting Tuesday night.

Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said the targeted curfews 'helped keep last night calm.'

Student unions and groups from the 'yellow vest' movement, whose protests over fuel prices shook France in 2018 and 2019, have called for another day of protests Saturday.

Soldiers from Sentinelle, the anti-terrorism operation that has patrolled French cities since the 2015 Islamic State group attacks, will take over guarding sensitive sites to free up more police officers and gendarmes for crowd control, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez told lawmakers Tuesday.

'The deployment (of police forces) for next Saturday will be massive,' Lecornu told the National Assembly, France's lower house of parliament, without giving figures.

Police on Tuesday arrested a suspect in the arson attack that charred the historic city hall in Limoges, in central France, Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin said, adding that the person was being held in police custody and may not have acted alone.

French media reported that the suspect was close to radical environmentalist movements and was on a watchlist of people considered potential threats to national security.

The suspect was named locally as 34-year-old Hodei Ciarra Docampo, who is understood to belong to ultra-Left extremist groups.

He comes from a Basque background, with family in both France and northern Spain.

Footage of the 143-year-old building in flames, its bell tower collapsing, spread widely online over the weekend.

US Vice President JD Vance shared it on X, blaming the unrest on immigration and writing, 'I pray that France, a beautiful country of amazing people, will stop this madness before more of its landmarks burn.'

President Donald Trump, who also relayed the video, said migrants had 'taken over France.'

French officials have instead blamed the violence on far-left groups and opportunistic looters.

At least 2,400 people were arrested after rioters in cities across France on Saturday clashed with police, set cars on fire and stormed public buildings during nationwide protests against rising living costs and poor conditions in schools.

On Sunday evening, small groups set fire to trash bins, bicycles and other objects in the streets and looted businesses in Paris, Lyon, Marseille and other cities.

In Paris on Monday night, a police helicopter circled over Place de la République overnight, a central point in the weekend clashes, sweeping the square with a searchlight to check that the curfew was being respected.