On July 30, two videos were circulated on social media, both claiming to show protests by dissatisfied Christians during the Paris Olympics opening ceremony.
The first video was shared on Russian-language Facebook accounts (1, 2), e-news.su, and a Telegram channel. The footage shows a crowd in the streets, holding lit candles and singing “Ave Maria.” The post authors claim this took place in Paris, where people decided to “cleanse” the country in response to the Olympic Games’ alleged mockery of Christianity. The video was also published by the Kremlin propagandist Vladimir Solovyov.
The second video, with similar descriptions, shows a crowd gathered around the Eiffel Tower. The video also features a banner with the French inscription: “Jesus, I love you.” The mentioned video was also published by “Media Holding Kvira.”
Both videos are old and were filmed before the opening of the Paris Olympics. The first video has been circulating online since 2022 and depicts the celebration of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in Lourdes, France. The second video was published on May 25, 2024, and shows the March for worshipping Jesus.
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First Video – The Crowd Celebrates the Assumption of the Virgin Mary
The Paris Olympics opened on July 26. This video, however, has been online since 2022 and was filmed in Lourdes, France. The oldest version was uploaded on August 15. According to the description, the crowd is celebrating the Assumption of the Virgin Mary.
“Happy Feast of the Assumption everyone from Lourdes with crowd beautifully chanting ‘Ave Maria.’” – reads the description.
August 15 is a Catholic holiday. The Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, in Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and some Anglican Christian traditions, commemorates the Virgin Mary’s bodily assumption into Heaven at the end of her earthly life.
The mentioned video was also published on August 15, 2022, by the official X page of the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes.
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Second Video – The Crowd Gathered Around the Eiffel Tower Was Filmed on May 25
In the second video, we can observe the name of the account – jeanluctrachsel.ministries. On the Instagram account, the video was published on May 25, thus it cannot be related to the opening of the Paris Olympics. The following description accompanies the video: “Right now in Paris..at the Eiffel Tower bringing Jesus to this city. Worshipping Him and preaching Jesus to the crowd.”
Notably, on July 30, the same Facebook account, Jean-Luc Trachsel Ministries, published the same video on Facebook with a clarification that the footage was taken on May 25 and is not related to the Paris Olympics.
“It was an historic event where, 25,000+ people according to the local police, came to worship Jesus and where the Gospel was preached at Trocadéro/Eiffel Tower and then the streets of Paris being part of this global revival that has started in so many places” – reads the video description.
The Paris Olympics opening ceremony took place on July 26. “Myth Detector” has already fact-checked several pieces of disinformation related to the event.
- THE LAST SUPPER OR GREEK MYTHOLOGY – WHAT DOES THE SCENE AT THE PARIS OLYMPICS DEPICT AND WHY DID THE ORGANIZERS APOLOGIZE?
- ALTERED PHOTO OF A RUSSIAN ATHLETE FALSELY LINKED TO PARIS OLYMPICS
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