French broadcasters admit Albania footage aired as Paris and Lyon protests
Two major networks mislabeled Albanian protest clips during a weekend of nationwide French demonstrations, prompting on-air apologies and 1,314 arrests across the country.
By Vikram Harrison ·
Two French television networks admitted errors on Saturday after airing footage from Albania as if it were from French cities.
CNEWS showed clips of protesters in Tirana, Albania, while labeling the location as Porte d’Italie in Paris. The images appeared during a live broadcast of a mass march in southern Paris. The channel’s commentator described the masked figures as behaving like future vandals. The presenter, Olivier Benkemoun, later apologized on air, stating that the control room misidentified the video feeds from multiple locations.
Public broadcaster Franceinfo made a similar mistake on the same day. The network broadcast images of riot police firing water cannons in central Tirana. The presenter identified the scene as live footage from Lyon, describing the situation there as tense. The on-air correction came three minutes after the initial report. The presenter acknowledged the error and offered apologies for the mislabeling.
The mix-ups occurred during one of the largest protests in recent history. Nearly 300 demonstrations took place across France on Saturday. Hundreds of thousands of people marched to demand better school funding and relief from rising living costs. The Paris march started peacefully but ended with clashes. Masked protesters threw objects and fireworks at police. Law enforcement responded with tear gas, sound grenades, and water cannons.
Police in France made 1,314 arrests on Sunday, according to the Interior Ministry. Scattered violence was reported in other cities and towns as well. The Associated Press verified the disputed footage. Journalists confirmed that the CNEWS clips were shot on Rruga e Durrësit in Tirana. The Franceinfo images were taken on Bulevardi Dëshmorët e Kombit, also in Tirana.
Political figures criticized the broadcasters for the errors. Jean-Luc Mélenchon, a far-left presidential candidate, posted on X that using Albanian footage to simulate a live Paris broadcast was pathetic. The incident highlighted the pressure on newsrooms to provide immediate visual updates during large-scale events. Both channels described the issues as technical confusions in their control rooms.
The protests in Albania coincided with the French demonstrations. Both countries saw large crowds gathering on the same day. The timing contributed to the confusion between the two locations. French officials continued to assess the impact of the weekend’s unrest on public services and infrastructure in major cities.
