Paris

PresidentEmmanuel Macron said on Wednesday that foreign leaders - including those "on the other side of the Atlantic" - were seeking to exploit France's tense social climate for political gain following a weekend of street violence and looting.

Protests over soaring living costs have led to widespread rioting and looting that have drawn worldwide attention and shocked many French citizens.

US President Donald Trump has used the violence to rally his political supporters, making unsubstantiated claims that Muslim migrants are responsible for the unrest, and urging Macron to "close your borders and take control before it is too late!"

Macron responded by saying there "has been foreign manipulation of information in the aftermath" of the looting in Paris and other French cities last weekend.

"And that has led to comments that are as unacceptable as they are stupid, from many people, including foreign leaders," he said. Asked by a reporter if he was referring to Trump, Macron replied: "Among others."

He added that there have been "AI-generated images depicting scenes that never actually happened in France. We've had people claiming that we were invaded by hordes of migrants and Islamists, which is completely false." Macron did not specify which AI-generated images he was referring to, nor how he knew the content was false.