Few social media posts with videos, video 1 (archived), video 2 (archived) and video 3 (archived) related to Muslim prayers in France are being widely shared across social media platforms with the claim that French people are obstructing Muslims from offering prayers. Through this article let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Videos showing French people obstructing Muslims, who are offering their prayers.
Fact: All these videos are related to a 2017 incident of Muslim prayers on streets as a protest against the closure of their prayer hall in Clichy, Paris. These have nothing to do with recent series of events which have unfolded in France after the beheading of a school teacher. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
YouTube search with relevant keywords led us to a video similar to the one in the post. The video is uploaded on YouTube on 08 June 2018 and the description of the video reads ‘French Nationalists protests over Muslim street prayers in Paris’. With this, we can conclude that the video is on the internet at least since 2018.
Taking a cue from the YouTube video, Google search with relevant keywords led us to a 2017 news article which carried an animated GIF and a few images similar to the visuals of the video in the post. According to the article, the GIF shows demonstrators led by mayor Major Remi Muzeau confronting Muslims praying on streets in Clichy, a suburb of Paris as their prayer hall was closed. A further search led us to a few more articles which reported the incident. These articles can be read here and here. News video of the incident can be seen here. Few more images of demonstrators opposing Muslim prayers in France can be seen here. With all this, we can conclude that the video in the post is an old one and has nothing to do with recent series of events which have unfolded in France after the beheading of a school teacher.
Video 2 :
YouTube search with relevant keywords led us to a few 2017 news videos similar to the one in the post. According to the one such video, a group of demonstrators singing French anthem led by mayor Major Remi Muzeau confronted Muslims offering prayers on streets in Clichy, a suburb of Paris. Another video reporting the same incident can be seen here.
Further Google search with keywords led us to a few 2017 news articles which reported this incident. These articles can be read here and here. Few more images related to the incident can be seen here. With all these, we can conclude that the video in the post shows a scuffle between Muslims praying on the streets and demonstrators led by the mayor in Chilcy, Paris back in 2017.
Video 3 :
YouTube search with relevant keywords led us to a video similar to the one in the post. The video is uploaded on YouTube on 23 March 2017 and the description of the video reads ‘Street prayer after the administrative closure of a mosque. Clichy / France – March 22, 2017’. With this, we can say that the video is an old one and is available on the internet at least since 2017.
Further Google search with relevant keywords led us to multiple 2017 news articles reporting the same incident. According to these articles, Muslims in Clichy, a suburb of Paris protested against the closure of their prayer hall. These news articles can be read here and here. With all these, we can conclude that the video in the post is old one and has nothing to do with recent series of events which have unfolded in France after the beheading of a school teacher.
In the wake of the outrage by Muslims against the statements by French President Emmanuel Macron regarding Islam and in the light of a history teacher beheading by a Muslim, posts similar to the one in the post are being widely circulated across all social media platforms with misleading claims.
To sum it up, all the videos are related to a 2017 incident of Muslim prayers on the streets as a protest against the closure of their prayer hall in Clichy, Paris and have nothing to do with recent series of events which have unfolded in France after the beheading of a school teacher.
