Freshly crowned European champions, PSG, received a hero’s welcome in Paris as thousands of fans gathered near the Eiffel Tower to celebrate their UEFA Champions League triumph. Players paraded the trophy, met supporters and later visited the Élysée Palace.
The celebrations were marked by joy and pride, though authorities. However, following the final whistle, clashes erupted between some groups and police, vehicles were set ablaze, shops were damaged, and authorities made hundreds of arrests as crowds spilled into city centres. Riot police deployed tear gas and water cannons in some areas to restore order, highlighting the challenge of managing the massive nationwide celebrations that followed PSG's long-awaited European crown.
In the above context, a video is being widely shared on social media in which cars are set on fire and a bus stop is being vandalised.
The video is shared with the claim that is shows the violent aftermath of Paris Saint-Germain’s (PSG) UEFA Champions League victory.
A social media user shared the video with a caption that reads, “Yesterday’s scene in Paris: They turned that city into hell, the one that was called the world’s most romantic city. France’s total population is 60 million. India’s is 1.4 billion. Be grateful that BJP and RSS are in India. Otherwise, what they do here, would be even worse than hell.” (Translated from Hindi)
SouthCheck found that the claim is false. The viral clip showing burning cars and vandalism is from a Kurdish protest in Paris in December 2022.
On a Google Reverse Image Search, we found that the same video was shared by an X account on December 24, 2022, with a caption that read, “Chaos in the center of Paris, vehicles overturned and set on fire. Clashes ongoing.”
We further found that a similar visual was also shared by Brut on its Facebook page on December 25, 2022. In the video, we can see the same white car on fire. The video is shared with a caption that reads, “Violent clashes in the heart of Paris following the attack in front of a Kurdish cultural centre. Images from Rémy Buisine on location for Brut.”
We further found that the same video was also shared by World Source News, an X account on December 24, 2022, with a caption that reads, “#UPDATE: Chaos in the center of #Paris, vehicles overturned and set on fire. Ongoing clashes.”
Hence, both the first part of the video and the second part of the video are old and unrelated to the viral video and unrelated to the recent PSG violence.
We further found that the second part of the video was shared by a French website, Yeni Safak on December 12, 2025. According to the report, the video shows clashes that occurred during protests held by members of the Kurdish community and their supporters after three people of Kurdish origin were killed in Paris. Some reports noted the presence of PKK supporters and symbols at the demonstrations, while the protests themselves were organized in response to the killings.
Hence, we can ascertain that the viral claim is misleading.