Car plowing into crowd is not related to ongoing riots in France

The video was taken when a motorist lost control of his car during a car race in Bordeaux, France. It predates the ongoing unrest and riots in France.

Things appear to be calming down in France, but social media is still flooded with videos claiming to depict the rioting. Amidst this, we have noticed a video of a speeding car running over bystanders has been linked to the ongoing riots in France. The fifteen-second-long- video claiming, “This driver decided to take matter to his own hands and punish the rioters #FranceRiots #FranceHasFallen #franceViolence #RiotsFrance.” 

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The same video was shared on Twitter as well.

Fact Check- 

By performing a reverse image search on Google with the key frames of the video led us to a report by Huff Post, dated 16April, 2023. According to the report “The 32-year-old motorist who lost control of his vehicle on Friday evening in Bordeaux during a wild car race, injuring 13 people, was indicted and imprisoned, the prosecution announced on Sunday April 16. (Translated from French)”

In further search we found the same video uploaded on YouTube on April 17 by TF1 INFO— a channel run by the French commercial television network TF1. The video title, translated from French, reads “Wild rodeo in Bordeaux: images of the road trip which injured six spectators”. The description reads “Six people were injured during a wild rodeo in Bordeaux, two of them seriously. A car left the road on a bend, mowing down spectators. The driver was arrested shortly after, along with his three passengers”.

According to Russian news network RT, the driver, a 32-year-old local Frenchman, reportedly lost control of his vehicle while taking a turn at a high speed. Following the incident, he reportedly fled the scene. But witnesses stopped him in the town of Bassens. He was then arrested, along with the three passengers who were in the car at the time of the event.

We also discovered a report published by a local media outlet 20 Minutes on April 15, 2023, that included the viral video. It mentioned similar details about the accident as HuffPost and TF1 Info. All evidence indicates that the video was taken weeks before the recent protests erupted in France.

Conclusion-

Fact Crescendo found that the claim made along with the viral video to be Misleading. The video shows when a motorist lost control of his car during a car race in Bordeaux, France. Though it is from France, it predates the ongoing unrest and riots in France.