On July 10, the conservative Georgian-language news portal “Georgia First” published a post, according to which the victory of the leftists in the French parliamentary elections was celebrated with Palestinian flags. In the video, which is believed to show the demonstration, almost no French flags can be seen.
An identical video was published on July 8 and 10 by Russian-language Facebook accounts (1,2). The French were allegedly waving Palestinian flags during the demonstration. Although the authors of the post did not mention the victory of the leftists, based on the date of publication of the videos, they probably referred to the demonstration related to the victory in the elections.
The video that allegedly depicts a rally organized to celebrate the victory of the left in the French elections is being disseminated manipulatively. In fact, the video was taken at a pro-Palestinian rally in Lyon in June 2024 and is not related to the demonstrations that took place after the recent elections.
After the announcement of the results of the second round of the French legislative elections on July 7, a number of photos and videos were circulated on social networks, where left-wing supporters waved the French national tricolor flag in Republic Square.
Nevertheless, a video showing dozens of Palestinian flags has gone viral on social networks (1,2) and other platforms. According to the description of the video, the leftists were celebrating their election victory with Palestinian flags. According to France 24, an identical claim was disseminated by the Australian edition of Sky News.
In fact, the video, in which we see dozens of Palestinian flags on display, was taken a month earlier at a June 1, 2024, pro-Palestinian rally in Lyon, and is not related to the demonstration held to celebrate the victory of the left in the legislative elections. On June 1, about 2,000 people organized by trade unions gathered in Lyon to show support for the Palestinian people. The publication “le progres” published a number of photos depicting this demonstration.
One of the banners presented in the video, on which the inscription “Free Palestine” is found, can also be seen in the photos distributed by this publication.
About the Source
Georgia First NEWS is the Facebook page of the portal “Georgia First,” which was founded by the former member of the “Georgian Dream” party, Vato Shakarishvili. The portal often publishes anti-Western content aimed at criticizing EU institutions, NATO, and the US presidential administration. The portal has disseminated false and manipulative claims in the past as well.
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