Video of church on fire in France shared linking to Manipur violence

Video shows a church on fire in France and is not related to the violence in Manipur.

Manipur is witnessing an ongoing conflict between the tribal communities of Kukis and Meiteis, which has resulted in the deaths of over 150 people so far. In this context a video of a burning church in a massive fire is going viral on social media to claim that this incident happened recently in Manipur. The claim also states that ‘pro-BJP extremists’ burned down this 300-year-old St Joseph’s church as a part of the protest. Caption of the post states “Violence arson is not stopping Pro-BJP extremists destroyed more than 300-year-old St. Joseph’s Church lit Manipur is burning since 73 days and PM is roaming abroad, I have never seen such a shameless and shameless PM. #Manipur Violence”

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Fact check

Our investigation began with a reverse image search of key frames from the viral video, which led us to a report published by the French media named France 3 on 7 July, 2023. The feature image of this story matched the visuals from the viral video. According to the report, “the historical timber-framed church, L’église Notre-Dame-de Drosnay in Marne caught fire and collapsed shortly after. The cause of the fire was not known”.

In further search we found a report by Hindustan Times from 8 July. The report contained the viral video and stated that it shows a 16th-century church on fire in North-Eastern France. 

We also came across another report by French news outlet BFM TV regarding this incident. This mentioned that 41 firefighters reached the scene to help douse the fire, and an official statement informed that 90% of the roof’s surface had collapsed. Mayor Emmanuel Le Roy informed that the church was listed as a historical monument since 1982 and predated to at least the 15th or 16th century.

Further we found a press release by Marne’s The Regional Department of Cultural Affairs (DRAC) Grand Est about the incident. It was published on 7 July and stated that the half-timbered church in Drosnay, in the Marne, was destroyed by fire on 7 July. We also discovered the church’s exact location in France on Google Maps which matched the viral video

Conclusion-

Fact Crescendo found that the claim made along with the viral video to be False. The viral video shows a church fire in Marne, France and is not related to the violence in Manipur.