Anti-Police Protest Video Re-Shared as Part of Current COVID-19 Protests in France
The Claim
COVID-19 protests in France lead to violent clashes between protestors and the use of teargas.
News posted on
Emerging story
A short video clip has gone viral on social media, particularly Twitter. The video depicts tense protests with clashes between police and protesters. Users claim that these are violent protests in France against COVID-19 restrictions. The video has been viewed over 800,000 times and has been shared by verified users.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar conducted an investigation and found the claim to be false. A relevant keyword search in news and videos using words such as "violent protests France" revealed that these protests were against police violence and a "global security" bill that was passed in November 2020. Protests were reported to have turned violent, with demonstrators clashing with police and teargas used to disperse crowds. Another article in French included the second half of the clip in the claim, as shown below.
In addition, recent COVID-19 protests in certain parts of France did not reveal that the police used teargas in the protests last month. There was no mention of it in any other credible news source.
Given the findings, the Misbar team confirms that the claim is false and that the video in the claim has nothing to do with the recent COVID-19 protests in France.
