Fox Investigation Counts 54 Groups Behind France's Student Protests and Says Greta Thunberg Urged Her Followers to Join

Fox News Digital says the protests that set fire to parts of France began with students but drew in a much larger network.

The finding. A Fox investigation identified 54 organizations and movements behind what it calls "Chaos Inc." in France's October student protests. Only 16, about one in three, are student or youth groups. The other 38 include adult-led communist groups, labor unions, political parties, revolutionary-left organizations, advocacy groups and international media outlets. Fox also lists environmental activists, Muslim student advocates and Palestinian-solidarity groups among the supporters.

Thunberg's role. Climate activist Greta Thunberg posted a video to Instagram urging followers to back French students who, she said, face "extreme police brutality just for asking for their basic rights." She asked people to "support them out on the streets, donate and come to the mobilization on Oct. 17." Fox says the video was amplified by Al Jazeera and used a protest slogan, "bismillah, c'est les ténèbres," which translates to "In the name of God, it's darkness." Fox notes Thunberg's main group, Fridays for Future, was not named as an organizer.

The Singham link. Fox says groups tied to Neville Roy Singham's network, including Tricontinental, CodePink and BreakThrough News, promoted coverage of the weekend's unrest. Singham, 72, lives in Shanghai, sold his tech company for an estimated $785 million in 2017 and has put $278 million into nonprofits, according to Fox. A congressional panel has been pressing on those funding questions; see our earlier report on the House subpoenas.

The "red-green-green" theory. Fox cites watchdogs who describe an overlap of communist movements (red), Islamist activism (green) and environmental groups (also green). That is the framing of the people Fox quotes. In the part of the report we reviewed, we did not see evidence that the groups coordinated the violence.

The scale. A companion Fox report says French officials have arrested over 2,500 people and that damage is about $1 billion. Protests began weeks ago over classroom conditions and education funding. Hundreds of thousands marched Saturday, and looting and fires hit Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Bordeaux.

Fox did not get a response from Thunberg or Fridays for Future.