What is the truth about the video “A woman burned the French flag during the recent protests”?

Social media accounts circulated a video clip claiming that it was taken on the sidelines of the French protests, which descended into riots and violent confrontations with the police. A 10-second video shows a woman wearing a hijab burning the French flag in the middle of a crowd of people, while the video is written in English: “Good luck, France.”

The video received tens of thousands of views on X alone, accompanied by comments attacking immigrants and refugees in France. A post stated: “She burns the flag of the country that received her and provided her with a decent life for her and her family, and this was the return of the favor by burning the French flag,” adding: “The right will come and then we will see what you will do and what you will say #Islamic_extremism_is_sweeping_Europe.”

A reverse search showed that the video dates back to a protest in front of the French Consulate in the Moroccan city of Tangier, organized by protesters on October 24, 2023. Tangier News Magazine published the video on its social media accounts, saying: “Burning the flag of France in front of its consulate in Tangier.”

At that time, Moroccan activists participated in the protest and chanted slogans against French President Emmanuel Macron, to express their protest against his visit to Israel, according to local Moroccan websites reported at the time. In one side of the video, a red badge with what appears to be a royal crown engraved on it can be seen.

The badge is usually found on the shoulder of Moroccan police officers. An image available via Getty Images contains the police badge to the right of the image below, which appears consistent with the badge seen during the video (left).

This is not the first time that the video of the Moroccan woman burning the French flag has been circulated, as it was previously circulated in June 2024, as part of an electronic campaign targeting immigrants in Europe. The circulation of the video during the last hours coincided with the worst wave of riots that France has witnessed in years, after protests over issues of education and the cost of living turned into a wave of bloody violence that swept the country. On Monday, French cities, including Paris, imposed a partial curfew.

Over the weekend, police fired tear gas into crowds and battled rioters dressed in black with their faces covered, setting fires and storming stores and government buildings, while images showed historic buildings engulfed in flames.