By Anmol Alphonso
Old and unrelated videos showing animals running loose on the streets of a town on the outskirts of Paris, France is being shared with the false claim that a zoo was forced open in Paris by rioters releasing wild animals.
BOOM found that the viral video is old dating back to April 2020 when animals escaped from a circus. Further, the Paris Zoological Park tweeted on July 3, 2023 denying any escapes by wild animals.
France is reeling from widespread riots after a 17-year-old boy of Algerian heritage was shot dead by a police officer at a traffic stop in the Paris suburb of Nanterre on June 27, 2023. The spiraling violence by protesters has resulted in the deployment of 45,000 police personnel, including special forces in various cities.
In the six seconds video, zebras and horses are seen on the streets alongside cars as spectators look on.
The viral video is being shared with the caption, "A Zoo in France has been forced open by rioters. Lions, Zebras and other animals were seen on the streets #FranceHasFallen #FranceRiots #ILLEGALimmigrants"
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The same video and another video the same zebra is being shared widely on Facebook with the same false claim.
Also Read:No, France Has Not Shut Down Internet Amid Protests
FACT-CHECK
BOOM found that the viral video is from April 2020 when animals from a circus had escaped in the town of Ormesson-sur-Marne in France.
On searching with zebra in French on Twitter, we found that the same video was tweeted in April 2020 with the caption that reads, "Why is there a zebra in my city? For what?.Explain?"
We can see the same sequence of events in the below video as in the viral video.
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We then ran a keyword search on Google and found several news reports from April 2020 on the viral video.
The same visuals can be seen in this news report by NDTV published on April 14, 2020. The headline reads, "Escaped Cricus Zebra, Horses Run Through Paris Streets."
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The report quotes Huffington Post that vividly reported on the incident. According to Huffington Post, the animals escaped from a circus in the town of Ormesson-sur-Marne and made their way to the neighbouring town of Champigny-sur-Marne on the outskirts of Paris, France.
The report futher adds that the owner of Badin Circus, from where the zebra and horses escaped stated that the animals are tame and did not wander too far from the circus. Moulot, the owner of the circus had then said that the animals escaped when their enclosure was left unlocked and added that they were on the loose only for about 15 minutes before they were recaptured.
We also found a news report by Le Parisien from April 2020 reporting on the same incident with visuals of the same animals roaming the streets of the town.
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Additionally, Paris Zoological Park which is located in Paris responded to a Twitter user on July 3, 2023, after they inquired whether any animals escaped the zoo during the ongoing protests.
The tweet reply reads, "Hello, don't worry, the animals of Paris Zoological Park are fine and all are safe."
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