A Facebook post includes an image of tanks lined up along Paris’ Champs-Élysées with the caption “Ladies and gentlemen, here we have an image of tanks on the streets of Central Paris. Nothing to worry about though.”
Although the post doesn’t mention it explicitly, recent protests in Paris against the introduction of new rules to make proof of Covid-19 vaccination or immunity mandatory to access cafes, restaurants and other indoor venues have attracted attention across the world. The same image in this post was used in other social media posts which strongly implied a link between the tanks and the protests.
The picture was posted on 15 July, the day after Bastille Day, the French national holiday commemorating the storming of the Bastille and a key event in the French Revolution.
Similar military vehicles were pictured this year in national and international news, photo and video reports, as well as social media posts, from the Bastille Day parade in Paris.
The parade is held annually along the Champs-Élysées, presided over by the French president, featuring an exhibition of military vehicles among other displays. The event was cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic.
Crucially, there have been no reports that France has declared martial law nor used tanks in response to protestors, although many other media outlets reported on the clashes in parts of the city on Bastille Day.