PARIS, May 17 (Reuters) - France accused Azerbaijan on

Friday of fanning the flames of riots in the French-ruled

Pacific island of New Caledonia by flooding social media with

what it said were misleading photos and videos targeting French

police.

Paris has cracked down on rioters who are angry over a

contested electoral reform and is trying to restore order in the

remote overseas territory after three nights of upheaval in

which four people have been killed.

The French government's watchdog for online disinformation

campaigns, Viginum, a unit created in response to Russian

activity in Africa, published a report on Friday identifying

Azeri social media accounts spreading anti-French propaganda.

French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin first levelled the

charges against Azerbaijan on Thursday, without providing any

evidence. Azerbaijan's foreign ministry swiftly denied what it

called insulting allegations and reiterated on Friday it was not

connected to the New Caledonia protests.

"Instead of accusing Azerbaijan of allegedly supporting

pro-independence protests in New Caledonia, France should focus

on his country's failed policy towards the overseas territories

that led to such protests. We once again call on France to stop

baseless claims against our country," said Foreign Ministry

spokesman Aykhan Hajiyev.

Viginum said the campaign included a picture montage showing

dead pro-independence protesters next to a white man in a khaki

outfit with a rifle held in a shooting position, with the

caption: "The French police are murderers".

Viginum said at least 86 posts on social media platform X,

formerly Twitter, were published by profiles of people who list

a connection to the Azeri ruling presidential party YAP. They

used the hashtags #RecognizeNewCaledonia and #FrenchColonialism.

"On May 15 and 16, Viginum has detected on X and Facebook a

massive and coordinated spread of content manifestly inaccurate

and misleading accusing French police of killing

pro-independence protesters in New Caledonia," the report said.

It published screenshots of the accounts and a

minute-by-minute account of the posts.

Azerbaijan has reacted angrily to French military support

for Armenia, another republic in the South Caucasus with which

it has fought two wars in the past three decades.

Azerbaijan last year recaptured the Karabakh region, where

ethnic Armenians had enjoyed de facto independence since the

early 1990s.

France, which has a large ethnic Armenian community, has

been sympathetic towards Armenia and provided military

equipment. It asked Baku for clarification in November about a

campaign that targeted the Olympic Games.

According to officials the campaign in New Caledonia has

been in the works for several months and has even seen

Azerbaijan organise anti-French networks on the ground,

including through the financing of events.

"Azerbaijan is outsourcing its dispute (with France)," a

French source with knowledge of the government's view told

Reuters.