European authorities are investigating Russia's possible interference in the riots in France and other EU countries, reports the Financial Times. According to the sources of the newspaper's special services, the pro-Russian user accounts spread videos of violence and false information about the protests. "It is possible that Russian information campaigns are really being carried out, but the platforms should not use algorithms to promote their spread," said the EU representative. According to the EU diplomatic service, among European countries, only Ukraine is targeted by foreign disinformation operations more often than France. The French authorities instructed the special services to find out whether the Russian agents could have provoked violence in the streets. The investigation is still at an early stage. A senior source in European intelligence told the FT that Russian information campaigns were largely a response to events already taking place and were limited to the internet. Italian Defense Minister Guido Crozeto called the riots a manifestation of a hybrid war being waged against European countries through TikTok, YouTube and social networks. According to him, the West does not realize what is happening and does not take retaliatory steps. According to FT's source in European intelligence, the authorities intend to check the activities of extreme left groups first of all. The interlocutor of the newspaper believes that the riots are the result of internal political radicalization, not external intervention. Another representative of European intelligence called not to overestimate the role of Russia and other foreign countries. "People go to the streets because they have real grievances with the authorities. Foreign states are trying to heat up the protests, but their role should not be exaggerated. It would be too simplistic to say that the Russians are to blame for everything," he told the FT. David Colon, a researcher at the Institute of Political Studies in Paris, told the FT that pro-Kremlin bloggers had spread false information about the riots. He mentioned the "Matryoshka" and "Storm-1516" networks of Russian influence. At the same time, Colon believes that these accounts were not behind the organization of the protests. The FT found several accounts that presented videos from other countries as footage of French riots. One of them published a video where the protesters throw fireworks. It was actually filmed in Tbilisi during the 2024 protests. The video has almost 6 million views. According to the sources of the newspaper, such materials were distributed by pro-Russian and extreme right-wing accounts, which were prominent in disinformation campaigns in the past.