Two Black TikTokers have exposed another side of Paris, France in recent weeks.
The popular travel destination city finds itself at the center of negative backlash after months of protest stemming from the trash workers’ strike in March and the recent protest over the killing of a 17-year-old boy by local police.
One of the two Americans goes by the name of @thebroketourist on the popular app. He posted a video of himself enjoying the popular tourist destination and then the video transitioned to him being attacked by police in the midst of the riots that are ongoing.
The college student could be heard saying, “I’m not from here.” The video showed police attacking him and throwing him to the ground.
“Oh my god, it’s not me, I’m not from here. I’m not from here, sir. Can I get up?” @thebroketourist could be heard yelling in the video.
He was eventually allowed to leave, but he appeared to have a noticeable limp as he showed himself walking off from the chaotic scene. The TikToker also laughed off the attack and said “that s*** regular in America.” The video received 11.7 million views on TikTok and over 29,000 comments.
“Officers found out who was in Paris,” wrote @KidtheGhost on TikTok.
Another user wrote, “Why would you go to Gotham in the first place bro, it’s as bad as Detroit Michigan.”
“That boy got Rodney King’d in 4k,” wrote @ihymenance on TikTok.
Police are on high alert with the recent riots that have resulted in looting, local businesses being destroyed, cars being set on fire, and city property being destroyed by local protestors. The French citizens are demanding an officer be held accountable for his actions after he shot and killed Nahel Merzouk on June 27 during a traffic stop.
A TikToker who goes by the name of @malfoy_drayco on TikTok also gave his experience from a trip to Paris. He made a series of videos titled “Paris Exposed.”
In the videos, he claimed Paris didn’t have much of a nightlife, trash was all over the streets, a foul smell was pervasive, and the city has poor restaurant options.
“It’s just this damn tower,” Drayo says.
One of the three videos pinned to his page received over 31 million views, the other received 8.1 million views, and the third one received 10.8 million views.
In March, the sanitation workers went on strike for nearly a month after French President Emmanuel Macron introduced a bill to raise the retirement age from 57 to 59 in order to receive their full pensions. Many sanitation workers cited it would be much harder for them to work at that age because of the labor demands of their job.
The workers decided to end their strike on March 29 after the French president agreed to meet with union reps for sanitation workers on April 6. While the sanitation workers were on strike, trash piled up to 10,000 tons and over a million people protested.
