Old video of clashes after attack on Kurds in France falsely linked to pension protests

The 19-second clip shows a chaotic scene in Paris; overturned cars, one of which is on fire, line the street. Crowds can be heard shouting in the background.

"The anti-pension reform riots in France are still raging," reads a simplified Chinese tweet that shared the video on March 23, attracting more than 53,000 views.

"The French are still beating, smashing, looting and setting fires during the ongoing anti-pension reform riots. The protesters chanted: "Get out, Macron, accept the people's trial."

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Screenshot of the false post, taken on April 5, 2023

Massive strikes and violent protests have swept France since the government presented a fiercely contested pensions reform plan in January 2023.

President Emmanuel Macron's proposal to raise the minimum retirement age from 62 to 64 has triggered the biggest demonstrations in a generation and a fierce backlash against the government and politicians in general.

The video was shared in other misleading posts on Twitter, Facebook and Weibo which linked it to the protests.

Russian state media RT also shared the clip in a Weibo post about the clashes.

Shooting protests

A reverse image search on Google found the video in a tweet from December 2022 about clashes that erupted after three Kurds were shot dead in Paris.

"Chaos in the centre of Paris, vehicles overturned and set on fire. Ongoing clashes," reads the French-language tweet posted on December 24, 2022 by journalist Remy Buisine.

One day earlier, a gunman had opened fire at a Kurdish cultural centre and a hairdressing salon in the city's bustling 10th district, killing three people and injuring three others.

Police charged a 69-year-old suspect -- who they said confessed to a "pathological" hatred for foreigners -- with murder and attempted murder.

The shooting revived the trauma of three unresolved murders of Kurds in 2013 that many blame on Turkey.

The Kurdish community also expressed anger at the French security services, saying they had done too little to prevent the attack.

Frustration boiled over on December 24, 2022 and demonstrators clashed with police in Paris for a second day running after a tribute rally.

French media reported that a gathering at the Place de la Republique spilled over into violence in the surrounding area.

Below are screenshot comparisons of the video shared in false posts (left) and Remy Busine's video (right):

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Screenshot comparisons of the video shared in false posts (left) and Remy Busine's video from December 24, 2022 (right)

French journalist Clement Lanot posted another video of the scene that day.

The location in the video corresponds with Google Street View imagery of Rue Amelot, near the Place de la Republique.

Below is a screenshot comparison of Google Maps imagery showing the scene of the clashes (left) and the video shared in the false posts (right):

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Screenshot comparison of google Maps imagery showing the scene of the clashes (left) and the video shared in false posts (right), with similarities highlighted by AFP