By: Rahul Adhikari
July 7 2023
Video of Marine Le Pen misinterpreted to claim she said 'Macron will be arrested'
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Fact-Check
The Verdict False
A video of French politician Marine Le Pen giving statements on the protests in France was misinterpreted. She did not say Macron would be arrested.
Claim ID 00286c12
Context
Violent protests erupted in France after a 17-year-old boy of Algerian descent, Nahel Merzouk, was shot dead by police during a routine traffic stop. According to reports, since then, more than 45,000 police officers have been deployed to control the protests, and over 2,000 people have been arrested.
Amidst the growing global attention on the protests in France, a news report has been circulating on social media claiming that French politician Marine Le Pen said she will save the country from the 'New World Order,' and that current President Emmanuel Macron will be arrested.
The news outlet People's Voice TV, formerly known as News Punch, published the report on July 3 with the title "Marine Le Pen: I Will Save France From the New World Order – Macron Will Be Arrested." Several people shared the article and a screenshot of the report across social media platforms. One such post on Twitter garnered over 250k views, and the screenshot of the report was shared on Facebook multiple times. An archived version of the viral post can be found here.
However, the claim is false. A video statement by Le Pen on the ongoing protests was misinterpreted.
In Fact
We reviewed the viral report, which claims, "French presidential hopeful Marine Le Pen has issued a national address, vowing to save France from the 'New World Order' and hold President Macron criminally responsible for the anarchy currently taking place across the country."
The report also claims that “Le Pen warned that all of those responsible, from Macron down to the ‘woke’ politicians and politicized unions, would be arrested and tried for treason once she becomes President.” The report includes a tweet with a video of Le Pen speaking in French as a source for these statements.
A reverse image search revealed that the over three-minute-long video was posted by Le Pen on Twitter on June 30. The caption of the tweet, originally in French, when translated, read, “For several days, a state of endemic disorder has been established in the country, the images and echoes of which are chillingly brutal. I ask the President of the Republic to receive the parties represented in the National Assembly without further delay.”
In the video, Le Pen stated her concerns on the ongoing protests. She condemned key stakeholders for encouraging violence and expressed support for security forces. Urging the president to raise this issue in the national assembly, she said, “Politicians or politicized unions that have taken on the responsibility of morally exonerating these criminal acts have themselves come out of the republican field. They will bear an indelible responsibility for this before the nation and history.”
French news channel BFM TV also reported that Le Pen posted a video giving a statement on the protests. The tweet has been included in a live report on the incidents.
She did not mention anything about saving France and the 'New World Order,' nor did she say that Macron would be arrested when she became president. We could not find any credible news reports stating that Le Pen made any such statements in any other events. A video of the French politician making a statement on the protest was misinterpreted.
People's Voice TV is known for publishing misleading and unverified reports. Logically Facts has debunked similar reports multiple times.
The Verdict
A video posted by Le Pen on the protests in France over the killing of a 17-year-old boy has been misinterpreted. She did not say that President Macron would be arrested or that she would save the country from the 'New World Order.’ Therefore, we have marked the claim as false.