Footage shows clashes at Labour Day rally, not pro-Palestinian protest

Published on September 12, 2025 at 07:19
3 min read
By Anne CHAN, AFP Hong Kong

A video of scuffles at a Labour Day rally in Paris has resurfaced in posts falsely claiming it showed French police roughing up demonstrators at a pro-Palestinian protest. The clip previously circulated after the May 1 rally in the French capital, and corresponds to similar news footage from the same day.

"A pro-Palestine protest in Paris sparks clashes between police and demonstrators," reads part of the simplified Chinese caption to a Douyin video shared on August 13, 2025.

"French police actively detaining protesters. Tensions between free expression and public order coming to the fore."

The video shows police officers in riot gear hitting out at protesters, and the date -- August 13, 2025 -- is also superimposed on the footage.

Screenshot of the false Douyin post captured on September 10, 2025, with a red X added by AFP

Several pro-Palestinian marches were held in Paris in August, but there have been no reports of clashes (archived here and here).

The same video was also shared in similar Douyin, Facebook, TikTok and X posts.

While Palestinian flags can be seen in the clip, it in fact shows a Labour Day protest held in Paris.

A reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the falsely shared clip, followed by a keyword search, led to the same footage posted on the X account of Cedric Canton on May 1 (archived link).

A watermark in the top-left corner of the falsely shared video also bears his name.

The video's French-language caption reads: "Repression. Police are violently beating and arresting demonstrators." It also includes hashtags for "May 1st" and "Labour Day".

Screenshot comparison of the falsely shared clip (left) and the X video from May 1 (right)

Canton told AFP he filmed the video on May 1 in Paris.

"Clashes broke out between protesters grouped in a black bloc and the police, leading to some violent arrests," he said in a September 10 email.

The falsely shared clip also corresponds to video of the clashes livestreamed on YouTube by British newspaper The Times (archived link).

Screenshot comparisons of the falsely shared video (left) and the YouTube video (right), with similarities highlighted by AFP

AFP reported that protesters clad all in black had harassed marching lawmakers and supporters of France's moderate left Socialist Party (PS), marring Paris's Labour Day procession as hundreds of thousands rallied across the country (archived link). Police said 52 people were detained in the French capital.

The CGT trade union said 100,000 joined the International Workers' Day rally in Paris, while police put the figure at 32,000.

AFP has previously debunked misinformation about supposed pro-Palestinian rallies.

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