FACT CHECK: Video Claims To Show French Police Hitting A Female Protester

Elias Atienza | Senior Reporter

A video shared on Twitter claims to show French police hitting a female protester.

Verdict: False

The video happened in Italy, not France. It is not related to any French protests.

Fact Check:

Violent riots have rocked France following the police shooting of a 17-year-old teenager during a traffic stop, according to Bloomberg. France Assurers said in a July 11 statement that the riots have caused at least $715 million in damage, the outlet reported.

The Twitter video, which shows police officers beating someone, claims it happened in France. The tweet reads, “3 Iranian male police officers brutally beating up a female protester… Now that I’ve got your attention , this actually happened in France.”

This video, however, is not related to the French riots. Through a reverse image search, Check Your Fact found that the video is from Italy in May 2023 and is about a Brazilian transgender woman being beaten by police in Milan, according to Il Milano. The video was shared on Twitter by Luigi Mastrodonato, an Italian journalist, who identified the location as Milan.

“This video was shot in Milan this morning, the violence of the agents is unheard of. Their bad luck, our luck, is that their faces show,” Mastrodonato tweeted. (RELATED: Did The French Police Surrender To Rioters?)

The incident is being investigated, and the officers who beat the person, known as Bruna, were disciplined, according to AFP. Bruna’s lawyer said that they were suing the police, the outlet reported.

Misinformation around the French riots is not new. Check Your Fact recently debunked a claim that French police surrendered to the rioters.

Elias Atienza

Senior Reporter
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