Video of a church burning in France passed off as Manipur’s St Joseph’s church; Fact Check

Amid violence in Manipur hitting the headlines, a video showing a church burning is going viral with the claim that the church in Manipur was set ablaze by BJP supporters. The caption in Hindi reads: #मणिपुर सुग्नू इंफाल नही थम रही हिंसा आगजनी भाजपा समर्थक उग्रवादियो ने 300 साल से ज्यादा पुरानी St. Joseph’s चर्च जलाई 74 दिनो से मणिपुर जल रहा है [Translated in English as:”Manipur- Imphal. The violence does not stop. BJP workers burnt the 300-year-old St Joseph’s church. Manipur has been burning for 74 days.”]

#मणिपुर सुग्नू इंफाल

नही थम रही हिंसा आगजनी
भाजपा समर्थक उग्रवादियो ने 300 साल से ज्यादा पुरानी St. Joseph’s चर्च जलाई
73 दिनो से मणिपुर जल रहा है और प्रधानमंत्री मोदी विदेश घूम रहा है मैंने ऐसा बेशर्म निर्लज प्रधानमंत्री कभी नही देखा#ManipurViolence#ModiDisasterForIndia pic.twitter.com/xcYW6nvEBe

— Deepesh Gupta (@AndbhaktJ) July 14, 2023

It has been shared here and here.

The ethnic profile of Manipur speaks volumes about the violence being stirred in the state. Half of the Manipuris are Meiteis, who are Hindus, Kukis and Nagas constitute 90 percent of the remaining population and they are Christians. The other 10 percent of the population are either Muslims or follow other religions.

The ethnic violence that started on May 3, 2023 has so far resulted in a death toll of more than 140 victims. In this context, the video of the church burning is being shared to trigger further communal divide among the people in the state.

FACT CHECK

When the Digiteye India team checked for the accuracy of the church-burning video with a few frames, visuals of the historical church, L’église Notre-Dame-de Drosnay in Marne that was caught fire and collapsed, showed up in our results. Using a 25-sec clip from the 16th century French church that went down in flames, it was claimed that the church in Manipur has been set afire by the majority community in the state.

See the original video of the French church that caught fire on July 7, 2023. According to a press release by the prefecture of Marne, an investigation into the cause of the fire was underway and testimonies were being gathered for the same. Nicolas Milovanovic, the curator at the Louvre Museum in Paris also tweeted about the fire and expressed his sadness over the “irreparable loss.” It was also reported in major news outlets here and here.

Détail du maître-autel. Superbe autel de saint Roch (bas-côté nord). Vitrail de saint Jeanne d’Arc.
Je ne comprends pas que des monuments aussi précieux et fragiles ne soient pas mieux protégés, surtout après les incendies de Notre-Dame de Paris et de la cathédrale de Nantes. pic.twitter.com/1Ku37saVQ4

— Nicolas Milovanovic (@MilovanCavor) July 8, 2023

Nicolas Milovanovic, the curator at the Louvre Museum in Paris also tweeted about the fire and expressed his sadness over the “irreparable loss”. The St Joseph’s church in Manipur was different in architecture and was built recently.

Claim: Video clip shows the St Joseph’s church set ablaze by BJP workers amid the violence in Manipur.

Conclusion: False, the video showing the French church burning is being passed off as that of Manipur.

Rating: Totally False —