This Is Not a Recent Video of French Cops Beating Women
The Claim
This video shows a group of French policemen brutally attacking two women while arresting them during the recent protests.
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Emerging story
Social media users have recently circulated a video purporting to show French police brutality during recent protests.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar investigated the circulating video and found the claim to be misleading.
After conducting a thorough reverse image search, Misbar found that the video is unrelated to the recent protests.
2021 Video of French Cops Arresting Two Women
The video features French riot police officers violently arresting two women.
The women, who opposed coronavirus health passes, had reportedly stormed a mall in central Paris.
Our team found the same video published on Twitter on September 5, 2021, by a user under the handle “Caisses de greve,” giving credit to the photographer Amar Taoualit.
In the midst of a worldwide wave of protests against COVID-19 restrictions, hundreds of protesters forced their way into the Forum des Halles shopping area. The group was heard yelling "Freedom!"
Journalist Clement Lanot claims that the riot police who were attempting to control the crowd were at one point "forced to leave the shopping center under pressure" by the protesters.
No actual physical confrontations between the protesters and the police occurred. According to BFMTV, the crowd eventually left in peace without any recorded injuries or damage.
According to French media, only three people were reportedly detained inside the mall for "violence and insulting the police," but the video of the detention of two women sparked a wave of outrage and fury online.
The Recent Strike in France
Following weeks of walkouts that crippled oil refineries and caused fuel shortages across the nation, unions called for a state-wide strike demanding higher salaries. Thousands of people took to the streets across France, and commuters encountered delays.
Transportation workers, some high school teachers, and staff members of public hospitals also went on strike, inciting other protests in dozens of French cities.
In France, where inflation is at 6.2 percent, the highest level in decades, protesters and strikers are demanding pay raises to keep up with rising living costs.
Unions were outraged by the government's use of requisitioning powers to compel some strikers to work at open fuel depots, but the legality of the action has so far been upheld.
Following a meeting with ministers on Monday, Macron stated, "We will continue to do the utmost," adding that he wanted the problem "to be resolved as quickly as possible."
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