Old Video of a Burning French Cathedral Incorrectly Linked to France Protests

The video dates back to July 2020, when France's St Peter's and St Paul's Cathedral caught fire.

The video is an old one and shows St Peter's and St Paul's Cathedral in Nantes in France.

(Source: Altered by The Quint)

A video of a cathedral on fire is going viral on social media platforms, where users are linking it to the recent protests in France.

An archive of the post can be found here.

(Source: Twitter/Screenshot)

(Archives of similar claims can be found here, here and here.)

What is the truth?: The video dates back to July 2020 and shows a fire at St Peter's and St Paul's Cathedral in Nantes in France.

How did we found out?: We did a reverse Google image search on the viral video and were led to several news reports which carried the same visuals.

• We came across reports by the BBC and USA Today mentioned that the fire broke in St Peter's and St Paul's Cathedral on 18 July 2020 in Nantes, France.

• NBC noted that the French officials suspected arson behind the fire accident.

Here is a comparison between the viral video and the BBC report.

(Source: Twitter/BBC/Altered by The Quint)

• A report by the Associated Press (AP) mentioned that no injuries were reported in the fire.

• According to AP, the fire had destroyed the organ known as the "soul of the cathedral" and stained the glass windows.

• It further noted that the cathedral, which was built over five centuries ago and was completed in 1891, had survived another major fire in 1972.

The main organ had previously been burned in the fire in 1972. 

(Source: AP/Screenshot)

Conclusion: The video is not related to the recent protests in France. The visuals date back to the 2020 fire accident at St Peter's and St Paul's Cathedral in Nantes in France.

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