French President Emmanuel Macron said Wednesday that foreign leaders - including those "on the other side of the Atlantic" - are trying to exploit France's tense social climate for their own political agenda.

Protests over soaring living costs have led to widespread rioting and looting in France.

U.S. 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.