BBC Reports Protests in France Are ‘Mostly Peaceful’ While Airing Footage of Rioters Burning Cars and Battling Cops

The BBC’s Paris correspondent James Waterhouse reported on Sunday the protests and riots which have rocked France have been “mostly peaceful” — but the footage the BBC aired right as he was making the claim didn’t back him up.

“In Paris and beyond, half a million people had filled cities across France to protest over the future of their country,” Waterhouse said. “They were mostly peaceful, but as we saw in the capital, in the wings were those who wanted to take advantage of the disorder.”

As he was delivering his TV report, it showed a clip of a car set ablaze while protesters yelped in the background. The report then cut to footage of masked protesters and rioters clashing with cops and setting fires in the street, before several other masked hoodlums were seen storming a wine shop.

“The shops that have been hit have been completely gutted, like this wine shop has been looted from top to bottom,” Waterhouse reported. “And this morning. in Paris and across France, there is an anger. Few believe this was at the hands of the genuine protesters, but down to an opportunistic minority who came in and sought to rob and cause carnage.”

His report went on, showing a bike store and bar getting plundered by the rioters, among other businesses.

And if “mostly peaceful” rings a bell, it’s because the phrase became a running joke after CNN described a 2020 riot in Kenosha, WI as “fiery but mostly peaceful.” Viewers were hit with that chyron while watching reporter Omar Jimenez stand in front of several cars going up in flames, all while police sirens blared in the distance.

The BBC’s story comes as jarring footage out of France has shown thousands of protesters and rioters looting businesses, attacking police officers, and burning buildings — including a historic town hall building in central France — this weekend.

Fox News correspondent Stephanie Bennett reported on the carnage on Sunday, revealing more than 600 police officers have been injured and nearly 2,000 rioters were arrested between Saturday and Sunday.

As she reported, Fox News aired clips of rioters setting cars ablaze, attacking businesses, and setting buildings on fire. One group of protesters could be seen holding up a barricade with “ACAB” — or “All Cops are Bastards” — scribbled on it. The most unsettling footage showed the 143-year-old town hall building in Limoges, a town about 215 miles south of Paris, burning down.

“Shocking images there,” Bennett said as viewers watched the building crumble.

The building is now considered “largely lost,” according to the local prefect.

“The roof has collapsed onto lower floors, except the west wing, and two-thirds of the exterior has already disappeared,” Maurice Barate, told the AFP news agency.

Bennett added the riots and protests, “Started with angry students protesting learning conditions, but they were soon joined by public workers, unions, and radical left-wing political groups, with fears of more nefarious actors being involved.”

Watch the BBC report above.

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