The mass protests in France, which escalated into large-scale riots accompanied by looting, unexpectedly presented the French authorities with a new problem. It turned out that even thousands of police officers might not be enough to combat street violence, since modern unrest takes place not only on the streets but also on social media.
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And while French law enforcement tried to stop the riots, millions of users on TikTok, Instagram, and X watched them unfold literally live, often with a distorted political subtext orchestrated by "puppet masters" (read to the end of the article to find out which country they represent).
24 Channel analyzed the course of the protests in France to determine exactly how social media influenced the scale and nature of the demonstrations, how Russian bot farms have been fueling unrest in Europe for years, why French officials have begun discussing new internet restrictions, and whether this is an attempt to justify their own powerlessness at the expense of citizens’ freedoms. Political scientist Ihor Reiterovych, head of political and legal programs at the Ukrainian Center for Social Development, comments on this timely topic.
TikTok Ignited France: The Role of Social Media in Large-Scale Unrest
The first thing that stands out in the story surrounding the 2026 French mass protests is that even the date of the protests originated on TikTok. Back in September, a little-known blogger going by the pseudonym V2 posted a video in which he called on the French to take to the streets on October 17, 2026, to demonstrate their dissatisfaction with the rapid rise in fuel prices. The video itself was eventually viewed about 1.5 million times, and the date he proposed quickly began to spread through other accounts. Moreover, the blogger himself had no obvious ties to French protest organizations, such as the “Yellow Vests” movement.
However, in this blogger’s case, it was more likely the “word-of-mouth” effect at work, since it’s unlikely that a little-known TikToker could have organized a nationwide demonstration on his own.
After all, even before October 17, his calls to action had been taken up by student and youth groups, labor unions, and representatives of left-wing political forces.
Young people truly formed the backbone of the protests, at least at the outset / Photo – Le Figaro
As a result, between 550,000 and 800,000 people took to the streets of French cities. But alongside the peaceful demonstrators were those eager to take advantage of the chaos to clash with police, loot stores, and set fires.
And this is where social media truly played a key role. As journalists from Le Monde discovered, on October 17–18, TikTok was flooded with live streams and videos of the unrest.
Some bloggers effectively turned the riots into a way to attract a new audience, broadcasting attacks on stores and clashes with police while simultaneously urging viewers to follow their accounts.
However, there is a significant difference between the popularity of videos showing looting and the direct organization of these riots. In fact, social media did help coordinate protest activities. Analysts note that on the eve of October 17, information about more than a thousand planned protests appeared on specially created interactive maps.
At the same time, participants used Telegram to share routes, updates on police movements, and links to live streams. However, such clear coordination does not in itself prove that the organizers of the peaceful demonstrations also directed the rioters. Rather, the rioters may have used these tools to avoid police concentrations or to blend into the crowd.
Political scientist Ihor Reiterovych believes that the reasons for the escalation of peaceful demonstrations into large-scale riots should be sought not only in social media but also in the characteristics of French society itself and the actions of law enforcement.
Ihor Reiterovych
political scientist
France is a very unique country with a specific structure of interest groups and a specific attitude toward various left-wing and anarchist movements, among others… And the general inability of the state system to respond to this in a timely and effective manner led to what we witnessed.
In other words, the internet has indeed become a powerful tool for mobilizing the public to participate in peaceful demonstrations; however, neither law enforcement nor journalists were ultimately able to find a clear link between the scale of the looting and the French public’s online activity.
Why did peaceful protests turn into riots? Many people are interested in the answer to this question / Photo: Le Figaro
However, there is indeed a problem here, though it lies not so much in the organization of the protests themselves as in their media coverage. Footage of the riots was actively used by people who were as far removed as possible from the demands of French high school and college students, but who were closely linked to Russian disinformation campaigns.
From the “Yellow Vests” to the migration crisis: Who benefits from negative coverage of the protests in France
It would be quite convenient to attribute the French unrest to the hidden “hand of the Kremlin” (since, given Russia’s actions, there is a sort of presumption of guilt regarding the country), but at the moment, even French President Emmanuel Macron is in no hurry to shift the blame for the riots onto Russia.
Moreover, as early as October 21, he stated that he saw no signs of direct foreign interference in the organization of the protests. At the same time, the French president acknowledged that, after the riots began, there was large-scale information manipulation originating from abroad. And this is where the Russians really found plenty to do.
The high school students’ protests became “fuel” for the Russian information war / photo – Le Figaro
As researchers from Alliance4Europe discovered, Russian disinformation networks began hyping the topic of the French protests even before the large-scale riots on October 17. In particular, the Kremlin-linked network Doppelganger shared over 600 posts in four languages over the course of six weeks, which garnered a total of about 7.4 million views. The main focus was on the high cost of living, dissatisfaction with the government, and calls for new protests.
However, after the riots began, the focus shifted toward issues with migrants (here, U.S. President Trump himself played into the Russians' hands by posting a barrage of posts on his "Truth Social" platform and blaming migrants for the riots).
With such strong support, Russian propagandists and English-speaking far-right bloggers actively spread footage of the violence, presenting it as a consequence of uncontrolled migration. Moreover, in the French-speaking segment of social media, only 3% of posts blamed migrants or Muslims for the unrest, whereas in the English-speaking segment, that figure was nearly 19%. Well, of course, things always look clearer from a distance (sarcasm).
Particularly notable was the incident involving the arson attack on the Limoges city hall, for which migrants were blamed without any evidence, although in reality it was carried out by ethnic French people with left-wing views (one of the suspects is 34 years old and the son of a former member of the ETA terrorist group; the other is 66 years old and has no connection whatsoever to high school students). But, in fact, the researchers’ main conclusion is that foreign forces did not organize the French protests, but actively exploited them to deepen social divisions.
Moreover, such propaganda accounts often didn’t even bother to find genuine footage from the French protests. For example, the Kremlin-backed TV channel RT actively circulated a video showing migrants in Madrid selling “luxury goods” on the street, passing it off as goods looted during the French riots. In reality, the video had appeared online even before the riots, and the sale of counterfeit goods on the streets of major Spanish cities is a long-standing problem, but that didn’t stop it from being shared again, in several languages at once, racking up over 2.4 million views. Footage from Milan also went viral, with many falsely claiming it showed the riots in France.
Of course, Marine Le Pen’s party could not let such an opportunity pass them by, especially on the eve of the 2027 elections. The “National Rally” even produced a separate campaign video featuring footage of the riots, blaming the left and Macron’s supporters for the unrest. And party leader Jordan Bardella went so far as to call for a halt to immigration and the deportation of foreigners who commit crimes.
Ihor Reiterovych
political analyst
These protests have clearly played into the hands of the right wing and Le Pen, as her approval ratings have risen amid the unrest. After all, she raises the issue of migration, and migrants have clearly played an important role here (or at least found themselves in the spotlight – 24 Channel). Macron still has a chance to respond to the situation in a different way and, perhaps, gain additional support. For the left, however, this is a major test, since many of the protesters’ slogans have a distinctly left-wing, anarchist slant, and it will be difficult for them to explain this from an ideological standpoint. Therefore, for now, Le Pen is the main beneficiary of these protests, although she obviously had no hand in organizing them.
Russia Is Reaping the Benefits
The most dangerous aspect of this situation is that Russian information networks are not limited to conventional propaganda but are resorting to hybrid operations. In fact, this is exactly what is happening right now. It’s also worth noting that, at the same time, Russia is carrying out sabotage operations in the EU, effectively committing “acts of war” against NATO countries.
The attacks are taking place both offline and online. As early as September 28, International Reporters – an organization linked to the Russian IPSO – called on French youth to follow the example of German protesters who actively opposed the reinstatement of mandatory military conscription. And following a report of a fire at a school, the Gavroche channel even suggested going to the French Ministry of Education and setting it on fire.
Moreover, this is far from the first time the Kremlin has used such tactics. Even during the “Yellow Vests” protests in 2018–2019, the Russian propaganda channel RT France (which, fortunately, has since been banned) devoted so much attention to the French unrest that it seemed as if nothing else was happening in Paris at all except for car burnings and clashes with the police.
According to EUvsDisinfo, over the course of ten months, RT posted 1,522 videos about the protests on its YouTube channel, accounting for as much as 22% of its total content during that period. By comparison, Russian state media, for some reason, covered the anti-government demonstrations in Moscow itself – which took place during the same period – much more sparingly or ignored them altogether.
Thus, such information operations are indeed capable of exacerbating social conflicts, spreading disinformation, and even encouraging radical actions. However, there is still no evidence that the Kremlin specifically organized the October riots in France. Instead, French authorities have already identified another potential threat to public order – social media itself. And it appears they are prepared to combat it far more decisively than one might expect from a European democracy.
Ban or Restrict: What Solutions Are French Officials Proposing?
It seems that French officials have found a rather convenient explanation for their own inability to stop large-scale riots. After all, whereas authorities previously had to answer uncomfortable questions about insufficient police numbers, excessive police brutality, or other failures in security arrangements, now part of the blame can be shifted directly onto social media. In fact, some French politicians are already proposing to temporarily shut down popular platforms altogether. And this looks more like moral panic than well-thought-out and responsible action.
For example, as early as October 20, Economy Minister Roland Lescure stated that social media played a role in the French riots, and therefore, the authorities will have to draw “certain conclusions” from this.
Former Prime Minister and current French presidential candidate Gabriel Attal stated that during such riots, the state must be able to temporarily and selectively block access to certain social media platforms to stop the so-called “mob effect.”
And all this despite the fact that, as we have already established, French law enforcement agencies have not yet presented any convincing evidence of a direct impact of social media on the scale of looting. However, it seems that this was enough for the government to move from talk to concrete action.
Photo: Le Figaro
For example, on October 22, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu sent a letter to the heads of France’s four largest mobile operators. In the document, he asked the companies to prepare the technical capability to temporarily block TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat during the upcoming protests on October 24. Later, X was added to the list. The idea was for French carriers to selectively restrict users’ access to these services via mobile networks.
However, the very next day, during consultations on this topic, the operators expressed serious doubts about the idea:
First, selectively blocking social media platforms only in certain areas and only on mobile devices is technically very difficult;
Second, such restrictions are relatively easy to circumvent using a VPN;
Furthermore, there remained the question of the legality of the decision itself.
After all, the operators insisted that in order for them to actually implement such a measure, a corresponding, properly drafted legal act would be required – not merely a request from the government. Ultimately, on October 24, social media platforms were not blocked, but the idea itself is far from new to the French authorities and has already faced legal challenges.
Back in May 2024, in New Caledonia, protests quickly escalated into bloody clashes with the police, arson, and riots, which even resulted in fatalities. Paris was even forced to declare a state of emergency, and the government of then-Prime Minister Gabriel Attal ordered TikTok to be blocked throughout the archipelago, citing calls for violence spreading on the platform (which, incidentally, did not blame Russia, but rather Azerbaijan). Ultimately, access to TikTok was indeed restricted, though not for long – just two weeks.
However, as early as April 2025, the French Council of State ruled that this decision was unlawful, as it disproportionately restricted freedom of speech and citizens’ access to information. The court did not rule out the possibility of temporarily blocking social media platforms under extraordinary circumstances, but emphasized that such a measure is permissible only in the absence of less drastic alternatives and for a limited period of time.
At the same time, the French government decided that it should also focus on individual accounts. Even at the height of the riots, Paris reached an agreement with the largest social media platforms on a mechanism for the rapid removal of illegal content and the blocking of accounts that incite violence.
In other words, methods to combat incitement to riots exist without shutting down social media for millions of users. Moreover, the very same platforms that looters use to coordinate their actions also allow peaceful protesters to organize demonstrations, journalists to provide timely coverage of events, and ordinary citizens to document abuses by law enforcement.
Political scientist Ihor Reiterovych also believes that the state needs tools to combat criminal activity on social media, but a complete shutdown of popular platforms poses far more serious risks.
Ihor Reiterovych
Political scientist
If social media were completely banned for adults, that would be a very serious problem. Because this is a matter of censorship; it’s a matter of intrusion into private life. On the other hand, law enforcement agencies obviously need additional capabilities to track various criminal or terrorist activities, which, in particular, thrive on social media.
Ihor Reiterovych cites the example of Switzerland, where in a 2016 referendum, citizens voted by a majority to expand the intelligence services’ powers to monitor the internet and even intercept private messages in cases of threats to national security. At the same time, the implementation of such measures requires special authorizations and strict government oversight, as opponents of the law emphasized precisely the potential for abuse. Blocking social media platforms or restricting citizens’ access to the internet was not even discussed.
In fact, this is precisely where the main danger of such initiatives lies. After all, if the government is given the ability today to shut down social media platforms in response to riots, who can guarantee that tomorrow this tool won’t be used to suppress entirely peaceful and lawful anti-government demonstrations? Especially if, in 2027, a hypothetical Le Pen – who has now distanced herself from radical rhetoric but remains fundamentally far-right – wins the election.
The French protests have shown that social media today can indeed become a tool for spreading violence, disinformation, and even foreign interference. However, instead of targeting specific offenders, the authorities risk restricting the rights of all users at once.
And then the main problem for French democracy will no longer be Russian bots, political manipulators led by a FIFA Peace Prize laureate, or aggressive TikTokers. The problem will be the dangerous precedent itself, in which the state decides when and under what circumstances citizens will be able to freely access the internet.
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