Macron rejects 'stupid' migrant invasion claims as France braces for new protests

Anyone seeking to cause disorder during Saturday's protests will be stopped, Macron said, adding that he would meet with French intelligence services on Thursday.

Last weekend's demonstrations against the cost of living, fuel prices and worsening conditions in schools were accompanied by violence and looting in several French cities.

Nearly 2,400 people have been arrested, the Interior Ministry said. By Tuesday, 149 people had been jailed.

'AI-generated images'

Macron condemned false images that have circulated online since the weekend and what he called “foreign manipulation of information”, which he said had led to “comments as unacceptable as they were stupid from many, including foreign leaders”.

“There are people campaigning at France's expense – leaders who are in campaign mode, whether in the region or on the other side of the Atlantic," he said. 

“We saw AI-generated images showing scenes that never happened in France. We've had people saying we'd been invaded by hordes of migrants and Islamists, which is totally false."

Such comments showed which foreign figures genuinely supported France, Macron said, adding that those criticising the country “annoy" him. 

French PM to meet unions as government prepares for more protests

Macron's comments were an apparent response to remarks by United States President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

At a rally in Kansas on Monday ahead of the US midterm elections, Trump blamed migrants, jihadists and communists for the violence in France and warned that the opposition Democrats wanted the same for the US. 

Similar remarks came from Netanyahu, ahead of Israel's upcoming legislative elections on 27 October. France had “given in to the invasion of extremist Islam”, the Israeli prime minister said on Tuesday.

Student leaders excluded

Further demonstrations are planned across France on Saturday. Organisers from the Yellow Vest protest movement have formally applied to hold a march in Paris. The Paris branch of the CGT trade union and the student group Union Étudiante are also expected to mobilise.

Macron said anyone seeking to cause disorder at Saturday's protests would be prevented from doing so.

He said France did not currently need to declare a state of emergency, arguing that existing powers available to local authorities were enough to maintain order. But he left open the possibility of using emergency powers if the situation required it.

Louvre blocked as France grapples with unrest

A massive police deployment is planned, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has said, while Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez has said the military will support the security forces.

Lecornu met with five major union confederations on Wednesday, as the government sought to contain the wider social crisis.

The talks were expected to cover security around demonstrations as well as the budget, purchasing power, fuel prices and the demands of high school students.

Student representatives were not invited to the meeting, drawing criticism from the CFDT and CGT trade unions. CGT leader Sophie Binet said the government needed to respond to the protests with political answers rather than repression.

Several unions have separately called a nationwide day of strikes and protests for 5 November.

(with newswires)