NM FACT CHECKER

Fact Check: Video of French President Macron Being Slapped in 2021 Viral as Recent

2022-11-25

A short video of a civilian slapping French President Emmanuel Macron is widely shared on social media claiming it to be a recent incident.

The video is shared on Facebook with a caption: “France’s president Emmanuel Macron got slapped again by a woman.”

Here’s the link to the above post.

FACT CHECK

NewsMobile fact-checked the above claim, and found it to be MISLEADING.

Performing a Reverse Image Search with relevant keywords, we verified a YouTube channel of newswire Reuters that carried the same video from a different angle on June 9, 2021.

The description reads: “A man slapped French President Emmanuel Macron on the face and shouted ‘Down with Macronia’ at a meet-and-greet in southern France.”

The same video was featured on the verified YouTube channel of ITV News on June 9, 2021, with the same caption.

Below is the screenshot comparison between the viral video and the video from 2021. The three security guards who were seated next to Macron in the viral video are seated in the same spot in the clip from 2021. Both videos show a woman wearing a pink cap.