Last updated on October 23rd, 2026
Editor's Note
In October 2026, archive footage showing clashes between police and protesters resurfaced in a report on French student protests and in posts on X, which falsely claimed that Paris was being overrun. Our fact-check found that the same footage had already circulated online by March 24, 2023. Further investigation confirmed that the video was filmed in Angers, France, not Paris. It cannot serve as evidence of events in October 2026. This report traces the video’s earlier circulation and its filming location. It also examines how genuine footage was reused and placed into new timelines and narratives.
Claim
On October 6, 2026, Turkish news website Haberler.com used a video of street clashes in a report on recent student protests and injuries in Lens, France, presenting the footage in the context of these protests.
On October 7, 2026, X user @bulllaw posted the same video capturing a street confrontation. The post claimed that Paris, France, had devolved into a warzone and was being overtaken by individuals it labeled “Pro-Palestine terrorists.” Presenting the footage as contemporaneous coverage of events unfolding in Paris, the post attributed the city’s unrest to the “Pro-Palestine terrorists”. The content amassed over 25,000 engagements and approximately 5.5 million views across the platform.
Fact Check
1. The Same Footage Had Already Appeared in 2023
A reverse image search using keyframes from the video found that the footage posted by X user @bulllaw matches a video shared by @ArthurM40330824 on March 24, 2023. The first 10 seconds of the video used by Haberler.com also match the same footage. The earlier X post appeared more than three and a half years before @bulllaw’s post. This confirms that the footage does not show recent events in Paris.
Further verification found that the Turkish local news website Gazete İlk Sayfa used the same video in a report published on March 25, 2023. The report stated that protesters opposing pension reform continued to demonstrate and that police responded forcefully. It presented the footage in the context of protests against pension reform in Paris but did not identify the video’s original source.
2. The Footage Was Filmed in Angers, Not Paris
To further verify the video’s background, we searched for French news reports published around March 23, 2023. On March 23–24, 2023, the ninth round of protests against pension reform took place across France. Clashes broke out between protesters and police in parts of Paris. Reuters, the Associated Press, and several French media outlets covered the events. A report published by French local news outlet Angers Villactu on March 23, 2023, stated that clashes between police and protesters during the pension reform protests reached their peak on Rue d’Alsace in Angers.
We further compared the buildings and surrounding area shown in the viral video with Google Maps Street View. The features matched those found along Rue d’Alsace in Angers, France. Based on this comparison, we concluded that the video was filmed in Angers.
3. Same Old Footage, Different Narratives
In early October 2026, student protests in France continued to draw public attention. According to Reuters, the French Interior Ministry reported that 6,100 people had been arrested since the protests began. The large-scale demonstrations and clashes between protesters and police provided a context for the old footage to be linked to recent events.
Those events are real, but they are unrelated to the viral video. To recap, the report by Haberler.com on Oct.6 linked the footage to recent protests and police actions without identifying its source. The next day, X user @bulllaw posted the video with a claim that Paris was being taken over by “Pro-Palestine terrorists”.
A visual comparison confirmed that both used the same footage but linked it to different narratives. Both narratives are misleading and attach a false location and timeframe.
4. How the Footage Spread
The video circulated across multiple platforms and languages. The instances documented in this report fall into two periods: March 2023 and October 2026.
On March 24, 2023, X user @ArthurM40330824 posted the video without clearly stating what event it showed.
On October 6, 2026, French-language X user @enversduDeco posted the video and linked it to the French student protests. Around the same time, accounts including @eurasianeditorial, @Dhaka_Stream, @realdonkeith1, and @peakybanter shared the footage on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok, linking it to topics such as “French protests” and “student protests.”
On October 7, X user @bulllaw also posted the video, linking it to alleged “pro-Palestine terrorists.” As of publication, the post had received over 5.5 million views and more than 25,000 engagements. Accounts including @CATERINAV, @wolfejosh, and @jluiscava also reposted it. These accounts had a combined follower count of over one million.
The video then continued to circulate in other languages, including through Portuguese-language account @brunosouzasc and Spanish-language accounts @MartinsGere and @isaacrrr7. This shows how the footage spread across multiple platforms and languages.
5. Account Overview
The X account @bulllaw was created on March 2, 2009. Its bio reads: “Champion Of The People. Law. Media. Business. Author. Eric Deters Show.” The profile is categorized as “Media Personality” and links to ericdeters.com. It does not identify itself as a professional news organization.
Verdict
Out of Context
Conclusion
我们的核实发现，这段疯传的视频是旧素材被重新剪辑，并被置于误导性的语境中。同样的素材早在2023年3月24日就已出现在网上。通过对比当地新闻报道和谷歌地图街景，我们发现视频拍摄于昂热的阿尔萨斯街，而非巴黎。因此，该视频并非2026年10月法国学生抗议活动的现场画面，也无法佐证该帖子关于巴黎被所谓的“亲巴勒斯坦恐怖分子”占领的说法。
2026年10月，这段旧视频在法国各地的抗议活动中被用于两种新的叙事方式，并在多个社交媒体平台和多种语言中传播开来。读者应谨慎对待此类断章取义的内容，以免被误导。
如果您有可疑的视频或说法，请将其提交给 Fact Hunter 的调查团队，邮箱地址为 [ therealfacthunter@outlook.com ]。
主要事实核查员：程玉清
二级事实核查员：雷婷
References
1.https://x.com/ArthurM40330824/status/1639120095707381762
2.https://www.gazeteilksayfa.com/fransada-protestocu-grupla-polis-birbirine-girdi-169068h.htm
3.https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/macron-under-pressure-find-way-out-pension-crisis-after-night-clashes-2023-03-24/
4.https://apnews.com/article/france-protests-macron-retirement-age-b734701860b2ab003bb9a1e3ff976505
5.https://www.angers.villactu.fr/reforme-des-retraites-angers-connait-un-regain-de-mobilisation-et-de-violence/
6.https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/france-braces-day-school-blockades-street-protests-2026-10-06/
