On September 18, 2025, the streets of France pulsed with the footsteps of hundreds of thousands of demonstrators, their voices echoing through cities large and small as they protested the government’s draft budget. According to AFP, the demonstrations were a direct response to fiscal policies aimed at reducing France’s ballooning national debt, but the effects rippled far beyond the numbers in government ledgers. Public transport ground to a halt, schools shuttered their doors, and a sense of disruption swept through much of the nation’s public life.
At the heart of these protests stood President Emmanuel Macron, now facing his lowest popularity ratings and with a mere 18 months left in office. The protests, as reported by AFP, were not just about numbers and policy—they were about frustration, fatigue, and a growing sense that the government’s priorities were out of sync with the lives of everyday French citizens. Teachers, laborers, and workers from a range of sectors poured into the streets, demanding not just a reversal of the contentious budget but also improvements in working conditions. Their anger was palpable, their demands unmistakable.
Yet, as the demonstrations unfolded, a parallel drama was playing out online. Social media, ever the amplifier of modern protest, was awash with dramatic footage purporting to show the chaos in France. One Indonesian-language Instagram post, shared on September 20, 2025, declared, “Chaos, thousands of teachers and workers protested in Paris,” accompanied by sweeping drone shots of a massive crowd. Similar claims popped up in English and other languages on platforms like TikTok and Facebook, with videos showing fiery scenes, police confrontations, and crowds surging through city streets. The posts suggested that France was experiencing a wave of unrest comparable to recent protests in Nepal and the United States, with captions like, “France is also burning. Demonstrations dominated by Gen Z due to budget cuts and high taxes.”
But as AFP’s meticulous fact-checking revealed, much of this viral content was misleading or outright false. A reverse image search traced one widely-shared drone video, supposedly from Paris, back to a Los Angeles protest on June 14, 2025. The “No Kings” demonstration, as described by a Los Angeles-based filmmaker on Instagram, was actually a massive rally against then-President Trump’s policies, coinciding with both the founding of the US Army and Trump’s 79th birthday. Buildings visible in the video matched those on Broadway Street in Los Angeles, not Paris. In reality, hundreds of thousands of Americans had gathered to decry what they saw as “authoritarianism” and “billionaire-first politics,” but the footage bore no connection to the French protests.
Other clips, too, were taken out of context. A segment in one viral compilation, which showed a crowd of young people and banners, originated from Kathmandu, Nepal. As AFP reports, youth-led anti-corruption protests erupted there on September 8, 2025, sparked by a short-lived social media ban and fueled by public outrage over corruption and economic hardship. “I am here to support the ongoing Gen Z protest. Let’s stand united to say NO to the misuse of our tax money for flexing and living a lavish lifestyle,” read one TikTok caption from Nepal. The video, though powerful, had nothing to do with France’s budget crisis.
Even footage that did originate in Paris was often recycled from earlier events. A video showing riot police confronting students was traced to April 3, 2025, when officers violently dispersed a demonstration against budget cuts in French universities. Enzo Rabouy, a freelance journalist, posted the clip with the caption, “CRS (riot police) officers violently beat students mobilized against budget cuts in Paris.” AFP confirmed the authenticity of this police intervention. Another widely-shared video of a burning building was from a “block everything” protest in Paris on September 10, 2025, not the more recent wave of demonstrations.
The “block everything” movement, which gained momentum earlier in September, saw students and activists attempt to shut down key institutions across Paris. On September 10, at the prestigious Lycée Henri IV, the atmosphere was tense. According to Le Monde, Laurent (a pseudonym), a second-year preparatory class student, arrived at 7:30 am to find riot police already dispersing a blockade. Despite his intention to attend class—“There’s too much work, and it’s impossible to miss even an hour,” he later explained—Laurent found himself swept up in the chaos. He began filming the scene on his phone, but officers seized his device, ordered him to be silent, and pushed him among the other “blockers.” For half an hour, he and his peers were pressed against a wall, facing it in silence. When Laurent asked for an explanation, he was met with repeated orders to “shut up.” The incident, captured on video and authenticated by Le Monde, encapsulates the intensity and, at times, the volatility of the protests.
Scenes like these—students facing riot police, buildings burning, and city infrastructure grinding to a halt—underscore the high stakes of France’s political and economic crossroads. The government’s draft budget, intended to rein in debt, has become a lightning rod for broader discontent. Many protesters, especially from younger generations, see the budget cuts as emblematic of a government out of touch with their needs and aspirations. The public sector, often regarded as a pillar of French society, has been particularly hard hit, with schools and universities bearing the brunt of austerity measures.
Meanwhile, the proliferation of misleading videos and misinformation on social media has muddied the waters. As AFP has repeatedly debunked, viral posts often blur the lines between fact and fiction, feeding a narrative of chaos that may not match the reality on the ground. In this digital age, the battle for public opinion is fought not just in the streets, but across timelines and feeds, where a single video can shape perceptions far beyond its original context.
Yet, despite the confusion and the occasional violence, the core message of the French protesters remains clear. They are demanding a government that listens, policies that reflect their realities, and a future that feels less precarious. Whether President Macron and his administration will heed these calls remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: the voices raised in September 2025 have left an indelible mark on France’s political landscape.
As the dust settles, the country finds itself at a crossroads, grappling with questions about governance, accountability, and the power of protest in an era where truth and spectacle often collide.