This Video Does Not Show French Police Taking Part in Protests Against Mandatory Vaccination
The Claim
The video shows members of the French Police throwing handcuffs and joining protesters against mandatory COVID-19 vaccines.
News posted on
Emerging story
Facebook and Twitter accounts have recently circulated a video clip alleging it showed members of the French Police throwing handcuffs and joining protesters against mandatory vaccines in the country.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar investigated the circulated claim and found it misleading. The video was cut from a live broadcast by Brut's official Facebook page on June 14, 2020. The live broadcast documented 2020 night protests against statements by French interior minister Christophe Castaner regarding the detention techniques taught to police during training.
The Facebook broadcast shows the actual longer video of the 2020 protest. The caption in French reads: “Nighttime action by angry police officers on the Champs-Elysées.”
Misbar also found other photos and videos of the same protest published on the actual date of the protests and in the same geographical location. The news read that 300 policemen were protesting in front of the Arc de Triomphe on the Champs-Elysees in Paris's French capital. The gathering was in protest of the statements of the French interior minister, who pledged zero tolerance for racism between Law enforcement personnel.
On June 8, 2020, during a press conference, French interior minister Christophe Castaner announced the abolition of a controversial detention technique called “strangulation” because of the risk it poses to the life of those being detained.
The recent claim comes against the backdrop of renewed protests in France and other European countries against tightened COVID-19 restrictions because of the rise in infection cases.
Translated by Ahmed N. A. Almassri
