A viral image claiming to show an elderly couple stripped and robbed during France’s latest riots has been flagged as either generated or altered using artificial intelligence.
Shared on Sunday, the photograph appeared to show two elderly people dressed only in their underwear, surrounded by several men wearing black clothing.
The picture was viewed more than one million times on X and circulated among several police unions as rioting spread across France over the weekend.
However, an analysis by this newspaper identified multiple inconsistencies suggesting that the image was created with artificial intelligence.
French media reports have also concluded that the photograph was produced using AI.
The image contains several obvious visual anomalies. Two of the alleged rioters appear to share the same pair of legs, while the elderly woman seems to have a missing finger.
In addition, the faces of two figures in the background appear to have been blended together, while another person seems to be missing the lower half of their body.
Specialist analysis software also detected a watermark indicating that the photograph had been generated or edited using generative AI.
The original version circulated on social media was identified as having been created with Google Gemini. A seemingly clearer version of the image was linked to OpenAI’s artificial intelligence technology.
The photograph shared on Sunday purportedly showed two elderly people wearing only their underwear while surrounded by several men dressed in black.
Both versions contained an invisible digital watermark known as SynthID, which is embedded in images generated by AI.
Major technology companies, including OpenAI and Anthropic, have signed up to Google’s service, which is designed to help users determine whether an image has been created using artificial intelligence.
The image emerged after French media reported that an 80-year-old couple had allegedly been robbed and left almost naked by rioters at Place de la Republique, a major square in Paris.
Local media outlets also noted, however, that Paris police had not yet confirmed the reported incident.
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Earlier, President Emmanuel Macron rejected an offer of resignation from his interior minister. Instead, he instructed him on Monday to end the barricades and looting and to be open about intelligence failures, as France tried to recover from the weekend’s unrest.
The unrest came after weeks of student demonstrations, accompanied by occasional outbreaks of street violence. The turmoil has shaken France six months before its next presidential election, while mounting pressure over a weak economy and rising debt continues to grow.
Concerns about divisions within Mr Macron’s fragile government, alongside apparent shortcomings in security planning, are expected to unsettle investors further. The tensions come as ministers seek to pass a crucial budget bill aimed at bringing the country’s finances under control.
Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets over the weekend to protest what many described as declining and dysfunctional public services. Demonstrators said citizens were increasingly being left to cope on their own amid intense cost-of-living pressures.
A protester carrying a French national flag walks past a fire during clashes before a demonstration against the “high cost of living” in Marseille, southern France, on October 17, 2026.
A fire burns with the Eiffel Tower visible in the background during a demonstration against the “high cost of living” in Paris on October 17, 2026.
A fire burning and destroying the city hall after a group of individuals forced entry into the building during ongoing protest action against the ‘high cost of living’, in Limoges, central France on October 17, 2026
In many places including the capital Paris, Marseille and the city of Lyon, peaceful protests were quickly hijacked by rioters, leading to scenes of vandalism and chaos.
France deployed 60,000 police and other security forces on Saturday, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez told France Inter radio, but acknowledged that wasn’t enough to control violent crowds in ‘certain cities’.
Mr Macron’s presidential office, the Elysee, said on Monday that Mr Nunez, a former Paris police chief, offered the president his resignation following the riots.
Mr Macron refused but urged Mr Nunez to urgently come up with new concepts ‘to put an end to the barricades and looting,’ the Elysee said.
It added that Mr Nunez also needed to ‘ensure transparency regarding the failures in foresight and intelligence that led to the violence’.
Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin, a longtime Macron ally, echoed the president’s calls on Monday, telling France 2 television there were intelligence failures that left the state vulnerable in the face of what he called ‘extreme-left’ rioters it had underestimated.