Fact-Check: France Did Not Announce An Internet Shutdown Amid Paris Violence

The French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs said that the rumours about internet shutdowns are "false".

The press release is a fabricated one.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

A press release, purportedly issued by France's Ministry of the Interior discussing the ongoing protests in the country's capital city of Paris, has gone viral on social media.

What does the release say?: It says that internet services will be temporarily suspended from 3 July during night hours in certain areas to "prevent misuse of social media and online platforms to coordinate illegal actions and incite violence."

• News organisation Scroll also published a report regarding a partial international shutdown, including the document in its story.

An archive of this report can be seen here.

(Source: Scroll/Screenshot)

(Archives of more claims on social media can be seen here and here.)

Is it true?: No, the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs categorically denied the rumours of internet shutdowns in France.

How did we find out?: We looked for official communication regarding internet shutdowns in France on the French government's websites, but did not come across any such releases.

• However, on the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs's verified Twitter and Facebook pages.

• The accounts called out the document being circulated, saying that it is "false" and that "no such decision has been taken."

What is happening in France?: Riots started in Nanterre, a suburb of France's Paris, after the police reportedly fatally shot a 17-year-old boy named Nahel during a traffic stop.

• As many as 40,000 police personnel and riot officers have been deployed across Paris to quell the protests, for over 700 protestors have been arrested.

• French President Emmanuel Macron has called for peace amid these tensions, tweeting that over a third of the protesters arrested over the weekend were children.

Conclusion: The French government has not imposed complete or partial internet shutdowns in France amid the violence in Paris.

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