Leaders criticised for spreading misleading information as France prepares for further protests this weekend<\/p>\n
Emmanuel Macron has accused Donald Trump and other foreign leaders of making \u201cstupid comments\u201d about France\u2019s street unrest for political gain, as the country prepared for more protests this weekend.
Speaking during a visit to Qatar, the French president did not name names but said \u201cmanipulation of information\u201d after Saturday\u2019s riots<\/a> had led to \u201ccomments that are as unacceptable as they are stupid, from many people, including foreign leaders\u201d.
Asked if he was referring to Donald Trump, Macron replied: \u201cAmong others.\u201d The US president has blamed France\u2019s violence<\/a> on \u201cmigrants, jihadists and communists\u201d as he campaigns for his Republican party before midterm elections.
Macron told reporters in Doha that some leaders \u201cin the middle of election campaigns, whether here in the region or on the other side of the Atlantic\u201d were \u201cnaively spreading narratives that certain circles are clearly trying to promote\u201d.
They were \u201cusing our country for their own political campaigns\u201d, the French president said. \u201cAnd we don\u2019t need that. We already have difficulties to deal with.\u201d
He said AI-generated images were circulating \u201cdepicting scenes that never actually happened in France<\/a>. We\u2019ve had people claiming that we were invaded by hordes of migrants and Islamists, which is completely false.\u201d
The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces elections next weekend, has also said that France had been hit by an \u201cinvasion of extremist Islam\u201d. Analysts have dismissed claims that migrants were the main factor in France\u2019s protests.
Macron and his government are struggling to get on top of a crisis that has erupted six months before presidential elections to choose his successor. The government has admitted it \u201clost control\u201d over widespread rioting on Saturday.
Largely peaceful demonstrations over the cost of living rapidly descended into rampant violence and extensive looting<\/a>, especially in Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Limoges, where the town hall was set on fire and partly destroyed.
Police said that protests would be banned in parts of Paris on Thursday as the city braced for more demonstrations.
The ban, from 8am to 8pm, will apply to key landmarks, including the Elysee presidential palace, both houses of parliament, and tourist havens such as the Louvre museum and the Champs-Elysees.
Other areas where rallies will be prohibited include the Bastille and R\u00e9publique squares, and the Ch\u00e2telet-Les Halles shopping area which was heavily targeted by looters over the weekend.
The unrest has prompted several countries to issue travel warnings for France and rattled already nervous financial markets, with the yield on the French government\u2019s benchmark 10-year bonds passing 5% on Wednesday<\/a>, its highest since 2002.
Macron pledged to prevent any repeat of last weekend\u2019s convulsions, as the gilets jaunes<\/em> (yellow vest) grassroots protest movement formally filed plans for a march through the centre of Paris \u2060on Saturday that is likely to be the \u2060government\u2019s next big test.
Student groups have also called for protests on the same day to push demands for greater investment in education. The gilets jaunes<\/em> activists aim to revive their nationwide 2018 campaign against rising living costs<\/a> and declining public services.
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\u201cThose who want to cause disorder in city centres next Saturday will be prevented from doing so,\u201d Macron told reporters in the Gulf, where he was seeking energy deals to help offset rising fuel costs. \u201cThere must be no wavering at the top of the state.\u201d
Government ministers have promised a \u201cmassive\u201d and vastly reinforced security operation after acknowledging shortcomings in their initial response last weekend, with some troops expected to be deployed alongside police reinforcements.
Partial night-time curfews imposed on Monday and Tuesday in areas prone to violent protests and looting in cities around France, including Paris, Marseille and Lille, have helped ensure relative calm and were expected to be renewed on Wednesday.
France\u2019s main trade unions have separately called a nationwide mobilisation for 5 November. Sophie Binet, the head of the CGT union, said: \u201cThere is huge and legitimate anger, and the answer to that situation is not repression. It is a political response.\u201d
Macron insisted France \u201cdoesn\u2019t need a state of emergency\u201d, saying it \u201chas the means\u201d to control any further unrest. Union representatives met the prime minister, S\u00e9bastien Lecornu, on Wednesday but no concrete announcements followed.
Justice minister G\u00e9rald Darmanin said on Wednesday that, of the 2,500 people taken into custody during and after the protests, 174 had been jailed. Another 917 had been formally prosecuted, he added.
Sometimes violent protests in European countries including Italy and Belgium have added to concerns that anger over living standards risks spreading across the continent where with many nations, including France, face budget problems.
Italy\u2019s government has ordered 500 troops<\/a> to Milan to stem street violence there.<\/p>\n