France said it would shut down internet services “to control the riots.”
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Firefighters use a water hose on a burnt bus in Nanterre, outside Paris, France, on July 1, 2023. Days of rioting followed the fatal police shooting of a teen in Nanterre after he fled a traffic stop. (AP)
France did not announce internet shutdown amid riots, as social media posts claim
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Two French governmental agencies issued statements describing as fake a purported news release saying the government had decided to restrict internet access.
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There is no evidence that France announced a stoppage of internet services amid riots over the fatal police shooting of a teen.
A video claimed that France, roiled by protests over the fatal police shooting of a teen, announced an end to internet access in the country.
France "decided to shut down the internet services to control the riots," said the narrator in a video shared on Facebook.
A partially obscured screenshot in the video showed what appeared to be a news article headlined, "France to shut internet services to control riots."
The Facebook post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)
We found no evidence that France announced it was shutting down internet access.
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According to news reports about the June 27 shooting:
A police officer in the Paris suburb of Nanterre shot and killed Nahel Merzouk, a 17-year-old who was driving away from a traffic stop.
The officer has been detained on suspicion of voluntary homicide pending an investigation into the incident.
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Protests and riots throughout France followed in the days after the shooting. More than 3,000 people have been arrested.
The article partially screenshotted in the video was posted July 2 on the website of Samaa, a TV channel in Pakistan. The article indicated that some of its information came from Reuters, an international news organization. Reuters has covered the riots but we found no Reuters stories about an internet shutdown. The article did not cite a source for its statement that France decided to shut down internet services.
The Associated Press, Snopes and other fact-checkers debunked similar claims. They reported that a purported July 2 news release from the French government announcing internet restrictions was fake.
Two French government agencies tweeted that the press release was fake and that the government had not decided to restrict the internet.
We rate the claim False.
Our Sources
Facebook, post, July 2, 2023
New York Times, "What’s behind the unrest in France?", published June 29, 2023; updated July 3, 2023
ABC News, "Why is France rioting? What to know about the fatal police shooting of Nahel M," July 4, 2023
Samaa TV, "France to shut internet services to control riots," July 2, 2023
Twitter, French Interior Ministry tweet, July 2, 2023
Twitter, French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs tweet, July 3, 2023
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France did not announce internet shutdown amid riots, as social media posts claim
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