Categories FactCheck ReportsFranceInternational
False

發布日期 (HKT) 2023-07-06

The French government has clarified that document claiming internet will be restricted in France is not true

 

Screenshots of the posts that claim France will implement a comprehensive curfew, including measures such as internet access restrictions, starting from July 3, 2023.

 

The claim: A photo shared July 3, 2023, on Twitter, appears to be a document issued by French Ministry of the Interior. The document purports to announce that French government would implement a comprehensive curfew starting from July 3, including measures such as internet access restrictions and traffic control.

Fact-checking:

  • French Ministry of the Interior and Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs have both clarified that the document circulating online is fake, and that the authorities have yet to make any decision to restrict internet access.
  • The date format of the document circulating online is different from that of previous documents issued by the Interior Ministry.
  • The French government enforced curfews and suspended public transportation in some cities and regions during the protests, but there is no evidence to support the claim that a comprehensive curfew and internet access restrictions would be implemented in France starting from July 3, 2023.

Our verdict: The French government has clarified that the document claiming that the internet would be restricted in France is fake. Therefore, we rate the claim as FALSE.

News Brief

A police officer shot and killed a 17-year-old Algerian teenager during a traffic check in Paris on June 27, 2023. The incident sparked large-scale protests and violence. Over 1,000 people were arrested nationwide. Subsequently, a screenshot of a document purportedly issued by French Ministry of the Interior, dated July 2, began circulating online. The document, bearing the signature of France’s national police (Police Nationale), claimed to show that France would implement a comprehensive curfew starting from July 3, including measures such as internet access restrictions and traffic control.

Similar images have been circulating on Weibo as well. As of the issuance of this report, the post had been shared 96 times, and it had received 136 comments and 1,183 likes.

Fact-checking

Keyword searches found a tweet published July 2, 2023 by French Ministry of the Interior. The tweet, written in French, translates as, “A ‘press release’ from the French national police force @PoliceNationale has claimed that temporary restrictions have been imposed on internet access in certain neighborhoods. This document is FALSE: no such decision has been taken.” French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs also published a tweet in English to debunk the rumor.

 

 Screenshots of the tweets published by French Ministry of the Interior and Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, respectively.

 

A keyword search on the official websites of the Interior Ministry did not find any document that matched the one circulating online. In addition, the format of the document circulating online does not match that of the ministry’s previous documents. For example, a press release published June 28, 2023 on the ministry’s website had a different date format from that of the document circulating online (see below).

 

Comparison of a document published by the Interior Ministry (left) and the document circulating online (right).

 

Further keyword searches on international and French local media outlets, such as Reuters, Associated Press, Radio France Internationale, Agence France Presse, and France 24, also did not produce any information supporting the claim.

According to France 24, the French government did implement curfews and suspend public transportation in some cities and regions in France during the protests. However, there is no evidence to suggest that a complete curfew or internet access restrictions would be enforced in France.

 

Conclusion

The French government has clarified that the document claiming that the internet would be restricted in France is fake. Therefore, we rate the claim as FALSE.

References