Authors
A Facebook post claims that the arrival of Rafale jets in India was celebrated in France with Indian tricolours.
You can see a few more examples of this claim shared by different social media users.
The same video was shared with claims related to London’s Trafalgar Square last year. See an example below.
Fact Check/ Verification
The claim in context goes viral on social media platforms after the first batch of Rafale combat jets arrived in India from France last week.
We began our research with a Google reverse image search of a frame from the claim’s video. The search results showed Piazza Venezia, the central hub of Rome, Italy.
We observed that the building shown in the claim’s video is the same as Piazza Venezia in Italy. The Italian flag is also clearly visible in the images.
A tweet posted from the official account of the Italian Defense General Staff shows a tricolour demonstration by Frecce Tricolori, the Italian Air Force Aerobatic Team.
The above tweet translates to:
“Silence in honor of all the #coronavirus victims in the presence of President Mattarella, the Minister of Defense and the #CapoSMD #GenVecciarelli, at the end overflight of the Frecce Tricolori.”
On 2 June, 2018 euronews posted a video on their Youtube channel titled, “Italy celebrates Republic Day,” which also shows the Frecce Tricolori’s demonstration similar to that in the claim.
Therefore, the tricolours shown in the claim’s video is not the Indian flag’s. It’s the Italian flag’s tricolour made of green, white and red.
Conclusion
Our research makes it clear that the arrival of Rafale jets in India was not celebrated in France with Indian tricolours. The video in context is a demonstration by Frecce Tricolori, the Italian Air Force Aerobatic Team at Piazza Venezia in Rome and has nothing to do with India.
Result: False
Our Sources
Euronews: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2UwZE2odWA
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