Eric Dupond-Moretti in Marseille, March 12. – Alain ROBERT / SIPA
- An undated photo of Eric Dupond-Moretti is circulating on social networks. Internet users indicate, wrongly, that it was taken in front of the Vivienne Palace.
- The image was taken in front of the premises of a production company.
- It was reportedly taken in February 2020, when the lawyer was not yet a minister.
A controversy within the controversy. A photo of Eric Dupond-Moretti, the Minister of Justice, has been posted on social networks since Monday. Several Internet users claim that the snapshot was taken in front of the Vivienne Palace, whose owner is Jean-Pierre Chalençon, suspected, since the broadcast of an M6 report this weekend, of having organized unauthorized dinners.
In the photo, Eric Dupond-Moretti appears in the background, visibly surprised, while in the foreground, a young man takes the photo as a selfie.
Contrary to what the caption of this photo claims, it does not prove that the Minister of Justice participated in a clandestine dinner in full confinement.
FAKE OFF
A search on Google Maps shows that the photo was not taken in the Palais Vivienne, which is in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. Grids in the background indicate that the image was taken in front of the Mediawan premises, a company which notably produces the C to You on France 5. These premises are located on avenue de Breteuil, in the 7th arrondissement of the capital.
A photo that dates from February 2020
When was the photo taken? It was initially broadcast on March 3 on the Instagram account of Vincent Schoepff, a magician close to Pierre-Jean Chalençon. The young man explains to 20 minutes that the image is much older, even if he cannot date it precisely.
Several elements suggest that the photo dates from February 2020, on the sidelines of Eric Dupond-Moretti’s last invitation in C to you before his appointment to the government. The filming of the show in the 7th arrondissement
did not start until September 2019. The photo could not therefore be taken before this date.
In February 2020, wearing a mask was not yet compulsory in the street, and Eric Dupond-Moretti wore a dark suit on the set, without a tie, as in the photo posted on social networks. Since he became minister on July 6, 2020, he has appeared in a tie each time he appeared on the show.
Vincent Schoepff explains that he does not always broadcast his images the day he took them. On March 26, he posted a photo of dancers at the Moulin Rouge, which he took in front of the premises of C to You. The last appearance of these artists on the show dates back to October 2019.