Jean-Luc Mélenchon who “refuses to be touched”? Beware of this video out of context

Published on: 04/04/2022 – 14:13 A video relayed mainly by supporters and accounts favorable to the presidential candidate of the Reconquest party, Éric Zemmour, claims to show Jean-Luc Mélenchon, candidate of the Popular Union, refusing that a woman touches him in the street. Those who share this excerpt are ironic about the “people’s candidate” who would refuse any contact with him. But if the video is authentic, it was taken in the midst of the rebound of the Covid-19 pandemic. Verification in briefA video claims to show Jean-Luc Mélenchon refusing to be touched by a passer-by. It would show, according to supporters of Éric Zemmour, that the candidate of the Popular Union is not so close to the people as he claims. The video is authentic and comes from the media La Provence, but was taken in September 2020 in Marseille in the context of the resurgence of the Covid-19 pandemic. The video was published both on Facebook, in particular by Jean Messiha, support of Éric Zemmour, but also on Twitter where it is relayed by accounts favorable to the Reconquest party. We see Jean-Luc Mélenchon, surrounded by a dozen people, declare: “You have to avoid touching me, people”. A woman then approaches him and touches his back, which makes the candidate react: “I have just told you that you must avoid touching me!”. The love of the “people” with an ultra-left sauce. Vote for me but break you don’t touch me! “My person is sacred”. ? To vomit. Next to a @ZemmourEric who shouts his love to the French embraces them hugs them…#melenchon #zemmour pic.twitter.com/fqYmPuMdAq— Fernand Naudin (@monsieurnaudin) March 28, 2022 For Internet users who relay this extract, it would thus be the proof that Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who “presents himself as the defender of the people […] obviously does not like contact with it.” Some versions of these publications even compare Éric Zemmour hugging one of his supporters during his meeting at the Trocadéro and the attitude of Jean-Luc Mélenchon. In what context was this video taken? If the video is authentic, by searching “Mélenchon, I asked you not to touch me” on a search engine, it is possible to easily find traces of this content. The six-second video was filmed by the newspaper La Provence on September 17, 2020, in the heart of the Covid-19 pandemic. The scene took place during a political back-to-school demonstration in Marseille, a city where the incidence rate was then 299.5 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, well above the alert threshold of 50 cases. per 100,000 inhabitants. The caption of the video posted on YouTube also states: “[Jean-Luc Mélenchon] reminded people who wanted to take pictures with him to keep their distance, in times of covid. one of the first post-lockdown demonstrations. Jean-Luc Mélenchon had started his visit by addressing the media in a dedicated pole within a tent, where he had already asked us to keep our distance and put on our masks , and he was then to join the procession to discuss with its organizers quietly during the demonstration. […] We were able to follow him in small groups of journalists, but he was protected by his staff to prevent people from coming to see him or asking him for photos. He kept washing his hands with hydroalcoholic gel during the demonstration.” The sequence recalls a similar intox during the previous presidential election: publications had relayed a video of Emmanuel Macron “washing his hands”, according to them , after shaking hands with a worker. But the sequence was taken after a fishing trip during which the 2017 candidate had handled eels. Do you want to tell us about a potential poisoning in images around the French presidential election or on another subject? Contact us on our Twitter account @InfoIntoxF24!