Footage of US, Nepal rallies falsely linked to latest French demos

"Chaos, thousands of teachers and workers protested in Paris," says an Indonesian-language Instagram post shared on September 20, 2025.

The post included a drone video of a huge crowd marching on the street, carrying posters and banners.

"Massive demonstrations have rocked France once again. Thousands of teachers, labourers, and workers from various sectors took it to the streets, demanding the reversal of the government's fiscal policies and improvements in working condition," the caption reads.

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Screenshot of false post, taken on September 24, 2025, with a red X added by AFP

Hundreds of thousands of people rallied across France on September 18, disrupting much of the country's public life, in protest of the authorities' draft budget designed to reduce the country's ballooning debt (archived link).

Heeding a call from trade unions, protesters staged a day of actions that saw public transport stalled, schools closed and people taking to the streets for demonstrations marked by sporadic clashes with the police.

Protesters took direct aim at President Emmanuel Macron, who has just 18 months left in power and is enduring his worst-ever popularity levels.

Social media posts shared the video alongside similar claims on TikTok in Indonesian and in English.

Another Facebook post with the same claim shared a video compilation containing three different clips, showing a huge crowd of protesters, police confronting a group of people and a restaurant on fire. 

"After Nepal, now Paris follows Indonesia’s footsteps. France is also burning. Demonstrations dominated by Gen Z due to budget cuts and high taxes," reads the Indonesian-language overlaid text on the post shared on September 13.

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Screenshot of the false post, taken on September 25, 2025, with a red X added by AFP

But reverse image searches show the clips are unrelated. 

'No Kings' protest in LA

Reverse image searches led to a drone footage posted on June 15, 2025 on Instagram by a user who describes himself as a Los Angeles-based filmmaker (archived link).

"'No Kings' Protest today in Los Angeles. June 14, 2025," the caption says. 

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Screenshot comparison of the false post (left) and the Instagram video (right)

Hundreds of thousands of "No Kings" demonstrators thronged the streets in cities across America to decry what they called Trump's "authoritarianism, billionaire-first politics" (archived here and here).

The parade was meant to commemorate the founding of the US Army, but also fell on the president's 79th birthday.

The buildings in the video of the false post correspond with Google Street View imagery of Broadway Street in Los Angeles (archived link).

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Screenshot of the video from false post (left) and imagery from Google Street Views (right) with corresponding features highlighted by AFP

Kathmandu rally

Subsequent reverse image search found the first clip in the video compilation uploaded on TikTok on September 8 (archived link). 

"I am here to support the ongoing Gen Z protest. Let’s stand united to say NO to the misuse of our tax money for flexing and living a lavish lifestyle," reads its caption.

"Our hard-earned Nepalese money should be used for the welfare of the people, not for unnecessary show-offs." 

Youth-led anti-corruption protests began that day in Nepal, sparked by a short-lived ban on social media, but fuelled by anger at corruption and long-standing economic woes (archived link).

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Screenshot comparison of false post (left) and TikTok video (right)

It also corresponds with an AFP photo of the protest. 

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Screenshot comparison of TikTok post (left) and AFP photo of the protests in Nepal with similar features highlighted by AFP (right)

The second clip was shared on X on April 3 on the account of Enzo Rabouy, who describes himself as a freelance journalist (archived link).

"CRS (riot police) officers violently beat students mobilized against budget cuts in Paris," reads the French-language caption of the video. 

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Screenshot comparison of false post (left) and X video (right)

AFP was also at the scene and covered the police intervention during a demonstration against budget cuts in French universities in Paris on April 3, 2025 (archived link).

Meanwhile, scenes from the third clip matched a longer AFP video of a building in Paris whose facade got burned during a "block everything" protest on September 10 (archived here and here). 

AFP has previously debunked other misinformation about the French protests here.