France’s protests began on September 18, when high school students in Paris’ northern suburbs demonstrated over teacher shortages and poor school conditions. They have since expanded into nationwide rallies against inequality, weak public services and the rising cost of living, drawing students, unions, farmers and Yellow Vest activists.
In the above context, a video showing a chaotic scene on the street with the backdrop of the Eiffel Tower has gone viral on social media. In the video, we can see a crowd protesting on the street and police action being taken. Some people are seen dancing while a car is on fire in the middle of the street.
The video is shared with a caption suggesting that it captures the violence that erupted during the massive student protests in France.
A social media user shared the video with a caption that reads, “More than 300,000 people have taken to the streets across France, with student protests over education reforms and budget cuts growing into a wider movement. Teachers, firefighters and public sector workers have joined demonstrations, while scenes from Paris show large crowds and pyrotechnics near the Eiffel Tower.”
SouthCheck found that the claim is false. We found that the video is from a Champions League victory celebration in May 2026.
On a Google reverse image search, we found that the same video was shared by an Instagram page on March 31.
The video was shared with a caption that reads, “A video of PSG fans celebrating their 2026 Champions League final win over Arsenal, showing a burning car and large crowd with smoke near the Eiffel Tower at Trocadéro. PSG’s victory sparked citywide festivities that turned chaotic, with reports of vehicles torched, shops vandalised, fireworks, and dozens of arrests as police contained disturbances across Paris.”
The video was shared by another Instagram page, Worldstar, with over 43.5 million followers. The video was shared on June 1, with a caption that reads, “Celebrations in Paris following PSG’s Champions League victory descended into chaos overnight.”
The screenshot of the video was also shared by Hindustan Times on March 31, 2026, with a caption that reads, "#InPhotos | Celebrations after PSG's Champions League triumph turned chaotic in Paris as around 20,000 fans gathered on the Champs-Élysées. Police were deployed to control the massive crowd amid reports of violence and disorder during the title celebrations."
Since the video predates the recent protest, we can ascertain that it is old.
What happened during PSG’s Champions League?
PSG’s Champions League celebrations after their May 31, 2026 final win over Arsenal turned chaotic across France. Fans set fires, vandalized shops, and clashed with police, leaving 219 people injured and 890 arrested nationwide. The unrest disrupted transport in Paris, though authorities later said the situation was largely under control.
Hence, we can ascertain that the viral video is of the celebrations after PSG’s Champions League triumph, which turned chaotic in Paris as around 20,000 fans gathered on the Champs-Élysées.