A social media post claims that the video shows French farmers protesting in 2024 (Source: Facebook/YouTube/Modified by Logically Facts)
The video, from 2015, shows farmers in Brussels protesting against falling prices and high taxes on their produce.
Claim ID 1a7c1478
What is a claim?
A low-resolution video has gone viral showing a truck pushing an armored van while surrounded by police personnel during farmers’ protests in France. Later in the video, the truck appears to spray a substance at the police officers who were present.
Footage of this video was posted on Facebook and It’s on the market.
Screenshot of a viral post on social media. (Source: Modified by Facebook/Logically Facts)
Frustrated farmers have recently staged protests in France, claiming they are being paid low prices for their produce, paying high taxes and having their profits squeezed by imports of cheap produce. On February 1, 2024, Reuters reported that protesters threw eggs and stones at the European Parliament, set off fireworks, and demanded a solution from European Union leaders. Farmers also used tractors to block the main access road to Paris and other major national highways. Following Prime Minister Gabriel Attal’s promise to address grievances, the two main agricultural unions called off their protests on February 1st.
Protests that originated in France spread to Brussels, where about 1,300 tractors blocked roads on February 1st. Similar demonstrations have taken place in Italy and the Netherlands.
However, our investigation revealed that this viral video is unrelated to the ongoing farmer protests in France.
What are the facts?
A reverse image search revealed that the visual dates back to 2015.
Spanish news agency elDiario.es published a larger version of the video on its YouTube channel on September 7, 2015, with a caption in Spanish that reads “Clash between police and ranchers in Brussels” did. The video’s caption refers to the “milk war” in which producers demanded higher milk prices and promotional aid, and notes that the Brussels protests ended with the intervention of riot police. His 0:01 scene in the viral video, which shows a tractor pushing a van, matches his 0:22 timestamp in the elDiario.es footage.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjEBIMMPkvE%20
Similarly, on September 9, 2015, the Associated Press published a portion of the second part of a viral video entitled “Raw: Belgian farmers protest low milk prices,” which Farmers have been shown spraying straw at police during demonstrations in Brussels demanding EU action. You can see that the footage of him at the 0:09 mark in the viral video is similar to his footage of a tractor spraying police at the 0:32 mark in the AP video.
Comparison of viral videos and videos from the Associated Press. (Source: YouTube/X/Modified by logical facts)
By comparing the viral footage with videos from elDiario.es and AP, we can confirm that the incident took place in Belgium. Additional evidence allowed us to locate the scene near the Aloft Hotel on Belial Street in Brussels using the phone number (02 280 30 34) shown on the sign in the elDiario.es video. Ta. Google Maps has revealed the exact location of footage of two trucks pushing back an armored van.
Locate the video with video by elDiario.es. (Source: YouTube/Google Maps/Modified by logical facts)
Additionally, the European Commission building can be seen at the 1:37 mark in the AP video. This building matches his Google Maps Street View from September 2016.
Leverage AP video to locate locations in viral clips. (Source: YouTube/Google Maps/Modified by logical facts)
Belgian protests in 2015
The Guardian reported on September 7, 2015 that during the protests in Brussels, “some 4,800 farmers (of whom 70 were British) and 1,450 tractors blocked roads, and some demonstrators attacked police. and sprayed with milk and hay.”
Deutsche Welle (DW) reported in 2015 that farmers had moved to the Belgian capital in protest against high taxes and plummeting food prices. They added that farmers, mainly in Germany, France and Belgium, “are demanding further direct aid from their governments to pay their bills, and other countries are also calling for the reintroduction of quotas.”
verdict
A 2015 video showing farmers in Brussels protesting against low agricultural prices and high taxes has been shared with the false claim that it shows recent French farmers’ protests. Therefore, we have marked this claim as false.