Image doesn’t show French President Macron ‘running away’ from farmers in 2024

What is the claim?

An image of French President Emmanuel Macron was shared online, claiming that he was seen “running away from angry farmers” in Paris in 2024. Archives of the posts can be found here and here. According to the claim, Macron “ran away” from protesting farmers at the International Agricultural Fair held in Paris from February 24 to March 3, 2024. The fair is held annually, and many farmers, researchers, agri-food industry representatives, and others participate in this agri-tech exhibition. 

Screenshot of the viral image circulating online. (Source: Facebook/X/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, the image is old and shows Macron running to greet people at an event in 2023, not running away from farmers.

Here are the facts

We found that the image dates back to 2023 through a reverse image search. The same image was found on the  AFP’s photo gallery with the caption, “French President Emmanuel Macron (L) runs to greet people as he visits the International Agriculture Fair in Paris on February 25, 2023, on the first day of the 59th edition of the fair. The 2023 edition of the International Agriculture Fair runs in the French capital from February 25-March 5, 2023.” The photograph was taken on February 25, 2023, and attributed to the photographer Christophe Petit Tesson.

Screenshot of the Macron from AFP Photo gallery. (Source: AFP/Screenshot)

We also found the same image on Getty Images posted on February 25, 2023. This also confirms that Macron was running to greet people at the International Agriculture Fair in Paris in 2023. This image was credited to AFP photographer Christophe Petit Tesson.

What happened at the recent agricultural fair?

Farmers in France have been staging protests in the country, demanding proper living conditions and protection against foreign competition. On February 24, 2024, when French President Emmanuel Macron visited the fair, farmers crashed through the gates and clashed with police. The fair was temporarily closed and reopened for visitors. Later, Macron was seen conversing with the farmers, France 24 reports. 

This confirms that the image was not recent, and Macron did not "run away" from protesting farmers, but spoke to them at the fair.

The verdict

A one-year-old image of Macron running to meet people at the international agricultural fair in Paris was shared with a misleading claim that he was running away from farmers. It is unrelated to the farmers' protest in 2024. Therefore, we have marked this claim as misleading.