Old Image of Unrest In France Falsely Linked to Recent Paris Protests

This photo is from Paris, France but it dates back to 2016.

Fact-check: An old image from 2016 showing clashes in Paris is going viral as a recent one.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

An image showing scattered garbage on fire while people walk past it near the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France is going viral on social with a claim that it shows the recent protests in France.

What is happening in France?: Protests broke out in different areas of the country after a 17-year-old boy was shot dead by the police on 27 June. The incident sparked a row on police violence and racism towards marginalised communities.

An archive can be seen here.

(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)

(Archives of similar claims can be seen here and here.)

Is the image recent?: No, this image dates back to 2016.

• Although the image is from Paris, France, it is unrelated to the recent protests.

• It is from the clashes that erupted between police and fans in Paris on 10 July 2016 as people tried to break into a closed-off viewing area to see the Euro 2016 soccer final.

How did we find out the truth?: On performing a reverse image search on the photo, we came across two old articles by Mirror UK and Huffpost.

• Both the reports were from July 2016 about the clashes that broke out in Paris.

• French police fired tear gas during clashes between groups of football supporters who were denied entry into a packed Eiffel Tower fan zone, showing the Euro 2016 final between France and Portugal.

• The reports also carried the same viral image.

• Huffpost credited the image to Stephane Mahe and Reuters.

• The caption read, "Garbage fires and tear gas surrounded the area near the fan zone."

The image dates back to 2016.

(Source: Huffpost/Screenshot)

• We found another similar photo from the scene on image stock website, Getty Images, which matched the location and details.

• This image, too, was from July 2016 near the fan zone of the Champs de Mars near the Eiffel tower in Paris.

The same were clicked at the same location on 10 July 2016.

(Source: Altered by The Quint)

Conclusion: An old image from 2016 showing clashes in Paris is going viral as a recent one.

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