Polish rally video resurfaces as fake French protest footage

By&nbspEuronews

Published on 24/09/2025 - 13:46 GMT+2

An aged video of a march successful Warsaw to people Poland's independency time has resurfaced online, with societal media users falsely claiming that it depicts wide protests successful Paris against the French government.

One post, for example, says that 250,000 French radical took to the streets against the government's cuts to healthcare spending and nationalist holidays.

Before being ousted successful a no-confidence vote, France's (now former) Prime Minister François Bayrou had planned a raft of fund cuts, including the removal of 2 nationalist holidays, to effort to slash France's €3 trillion debt.

On 10 September, mass protests broke retired successful France arsenic portion of the "Bloquons Tout" (Block Everything) movement, successful effect to Bayrou's plans and wider discontent with President Emmanuel Macron's government.

New Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has already formed the nationalist vacation program aside, but different protests person continued contempt the illness of Bayrou's government. Many spot the assignment of Lecornu, erstwhile defence curate and long-time Macron ally, arsenic a lawsuit of more of the same.

However, the video successful question doesn't picture immoderate of these demonstrations, and it wasn't adjacent filmed successful France.

Reference to Nepal protests

A reverse representation hunt of stills from the video shows america that it really portrays a ample rally marking Poland's independency time successful 2017.

We tin spot that it archetypal emerged online connected 12 November of that year, the time aft Poland's independency time connected 11 November.

There are besides ocular clues wrong the video: it shows radical flying the reddish and achromatic Polish flag, and the signs for retailers H&M, C&A and TK MAXX besides lucifer those connected a cardinal Warsaw roundabout, according to pictures from Google Maps.

Additionally, you tin perceive the Polish nationalist anthem being played successful the background.

The station that misinterprets the video besides refers to protests successful Nepal, which occurred astatine the aforesaid clip arsenic the protests successful France, but had thing to bash with them.

The Nepalese protests, besides known arsenic the "Gen Z protests" owed to the demographics of the bulk of the protesters, were sparked by a nationwide prohibition connected galore societal media platforms. They besides much wide targeted corruption by authorities officials and alleged misuse of nationalist funds.

The protests managed to bring down the authorities but were besides violent, with 72 radical killed.

The video of the Polish rally was antecedently besides taken retired of discourse successful November 2024, with mendacious captions connected X saying that it showed immense protests against migrants and declaring Poland a Christian country.

Fact-checkers debunked it astatine the time, stating that portion far-right and anti-immigration groups did be the march, others seeking tolerance and inclusion were besides present.