How are French police identifying looters? Social media is key

French police are using social media, security cameras and other digital tools in Paris after last weekend’s unrest to identify and arrest suspected looters. Investigators compare videos from TikTok, Instagram, Discord and witness submissions with footage from 80,000 security cameras. Facial recognition will also compare police mugshots with social media images, while more than 200 investigators have been assigned to the effort. In Vienne, a 19-year-old was arrested carrying looted goods worth an estimated 4,500 euros.

Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin announced that facial recognition would be used to compare police mugshots with images posted on social media.

The Security Operational Coordination Centre has access to images from 80,000 security cameras, including cameras in the Paris region’s transport system.

Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu ordered more than 200 investigators to work on identifying people involved in the unrest and looting.

A witness platform was created to allow people to upload images recorded during crimes committed in the streets.

Police in Vienne arrested a 19-year-old carrying stolen clothes, shoes and jewellery valued by prosecutors at about 4,500 euros.

Published Oct 21, 2026 12:55 am KST

A man walks past a burned-out car after a quiet night Monday under curfew, the first since weekend protests over the cost of living turned into rioting and looting across France, in Paris, Tuesday. AP-Yonhap

PARIS — France's police striving to identify and arrest looters who shattered shops in last weekend's unrest are relying on one tool to trigger their forensic follow-up: social media.

"We are working the social networks... then we go over all that with our own tools, to see if the crimes seen on social media correspond with the crimes we're studying," said an officer seated in a special operations room with 10 screens in front of him.

The officer, identified only by his first name, Bruno, was seated in a gamer-style chair, pushing a mouse around as looked closely at a video.

He said he was convinced he had identified a group of four youths who took part in the looting that had scarred Paris streets.

Using street security cameras as well as cameras installed in the Paris region's transport system, Bruno tracked the four as they carried their haul, almost up to their home addresses.

The officer was one of a dozen specialists carrying out similar digital hunts on screens in the cramped Security Operational Coordination Centre.

Footage and police footwork

The team, at work since Monday, has 80,000 security cameras at its disposal, whose images it can tap into.

Images on TikTok, Instagram, Discord and other social media platforms often provide the first clues.

"Maybe a victim talks about a crime but doesn't go to the police station to report it -- they're in shock, they wonder whether it's worth going -- but they post it on social media," Bruno said.

"And so from that, we start checks, see about the geolocation... See if we can find the victim and if we can find the crime. If we find the crime, we send that to the criminal investigation unit, which takes over."

At that point, footage and footwork combine to potentially build a case.

A suspect identified "might say 'no, that's not me', but if we see their face in a video...." another officer in the unit said, implying that images were persuasive evidence.

"It's not the only tool to close a case, but it's one of the very useful tools for investigators," she said.

The process has already been used in other protest-related cases recently, such as in the assault of a trainee police officer in eastern Paris, or when a group of youths threw bricks from a chimney at police in the city.

To help the video sleuths, Michel Lavaud, a security official for the greater Paris region, told his team that a platform had been set up for witnesses to crimes committed in the street during the unrest to upload images they recorded.

Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin has also announced that facial recognition would be used to compare a police database of mugshots with images posted on social media.

The French government, under fire for not having done enough to stop the violence, is underlining its determination to catch perpetrators of the riots and looting.

Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu has ordered more than 200 investigators to work on that.

A specialised national detection unit has been set up, pooling transport security services with the police unit that battles organised crime.

It was scrutinising "all leads but also the available images, from security cameras, cameras in stores and videos on social media," the Paris police prefecture told AFP.

"Our deployment relies on three complementary pillars: dissuasion, through our presence in the streets; stopping crimes in the act; and prosecuting the crimes," the city's police chief, Patrice Faure, said.

Suspected looter nabbed

The painstaking screen-watching and detective work has not been needed in all cases.

In the southern town of Vienne, near Lyon, a 19-year-old man was arrested Sunday when he walked by the police station, masked and carrying bags of stolen clothes, shoes and jewellery.

Police said the man tried to run when he was spotted by officers walking out of the station, but was swiftly nabbed by other officers nearby.

"He admitted stealing some of the items from a store and said he found a bag full of items in the street that he picked up," the prosecutor's office in Vienne told AFP. It estimated the value of the looted items at 4,500 euros ($5,000).

上周末巴黎发生骚乱后，法国警方正利用社交媒体、监控摄像头和其他数字工具，在巴黎识别并逮捕涉嫌抢劫者。调查人员将TikTok、Instagram、Discord等平台上的视频以及目击者提供的证词与8万个监控摄像头的录像进行比对。此外，警方还将使用面部识别技术，将警方拍摄的嫌疑人照片与社交媒体上的照片进行比对。目前，已有超过200名调查人员参与了这项工作。在维埃纳省，一名19岁男子因携带价值约4500欧元的赃物被捕。

司法部长杰拉尔德·达尔马宁宣布，将使用面部识别技术将警方拍摄的嫌犯照片与社交媒体上发布的图片进行比对。

安全行动协调中心可以访问 80,000 个安全摄像头的图像，其中包括巴黎地区交通系统中的摄像头。

总理塞巴斯蒂安·勒科尔努下令200多名调查人员查明参与骚乱和抢劫的人员身份。

建立了一个目击者平台，允许人们上传在街头犯罪过程中拍摄的图像。

维埃纳警方逮捕了一名 19 岁男子，他携带了被盗的衣物、鞋子和珠宝，检察官估计这些物品价值约 4500 欧元。

发布于2026年10月21日凌晨12:55（韩国标准时间）

周一晚间，巴黎实施宵禁，度过了一个平静的夜晚。这是自周末因生活成本上涨引发的抗议活动演变为席卷法国各地的骚乱和抢劫以来，法国首次实施宵禁。周二，一名男子走过一辆被烧毁的汽车。（美联社-韩联社）

巴黎——法国警方正在努力识别和逮捕上周末骚乱中砸毁商店的抢劫者，他们依靠一种工具来触发他们的法医后续调查：社交媒体。

“我们正在研究社交网络……然后我们会用我们自己的工具分析所有这些内容，看看社交媒体上看到的犯罪是否与我们正在研究的犯罪相符，”一位坐在特勤室里、面前摆着 10 个屏幕的警官说道。

这名警官只透露了自己的名字布鲁诺，他坐在游戏椅上，一边用鼠标操作，一边仔细地观看视频。

他说，他确信自己已经确认了参与抢劫的四名青年，他们给巴黎街头造成了破坏。

布鲁诺利用街头监控摄像头以及安装在巴黎地区交通系统中的摄像头，跟踪了这四人携带赃物的行踪，几乎一直追踪到他们的住所。

这名警官是十几名专家之一，他们在狭小的安全行动协调中心的屏幕上进行类似的数字搜索。

录像和警方行动

该团队从周一开始工作，他们拥有 8 万个监控摄像头，可以调取这些摄像头的图像。

TikTok、Instagram、Discord 和其他社交媒体平台上的图片往往会提供最初的线索。

“也许受害者会谈论犯罪事件，但不会去警察局报案——他们感到震惊，他们不知道是否值得去——但他们会把事情发布到社交媒体上，”布鲁诺说。

“因此，我们由此开始调查，查看地理位置……看看能否找到受害者和犯罪现场。如果找到了犯罪现场，我们会将其移交给刑事调查部门，由他们接手。”

这时，录像和实地考察结合起来，就有可能构成证据。

一名被确认身份的嫌疑人“可能会说‘不，那不是我’，但如果我们在视频中看到他们的脸……”该部门的另一名警官说道，暗示图像是具有说服力的证据。

“虽然这不是破案的唯一手段，但却是调查人员非常有用的工具之一，”她说。

该程序最近已在其他与抗议活动相关的案件中使用过，例如在巴黎东部发生的一起警察学员遭袭事件，或者一群年轻人从烟囱向该市警察投掷砖块的事件。

为了帮助视频侦探，大巴黎地区的安全官员米歇尔·拉沃德告诉他的团队，已经建立了一个平台，供骚乱期间街头犯罪的目击者上传他们拍摄的图像。

司法部长杰拉尔德·达尔马宁也宣布，将使用面部识别技术，把警方数据库中的嫌犯照片与社交媒体上发布的图片进行比对。

法国政府因未能采取足够措施制止暴力而受到抨击，并强调决心抓捕骚乱和抢劫的肇事者。

总理塞巴斯蒂安·勒科尔努已下令200多名调查人员参与调查。

已成立一个专门的国家侦查部门，将交通安全部门与打击有组织犯罪的警察部门联合起来。

巴黎警察局告诉法新社，他们正在“仔细审查所有线索，以及来自监控摄像头、商店摄像头和社交媒体视频的可用图像”。

“我们的部署依靠三个互补的支柱：通过我们在街头的存在进行威慑；制止正在发生的犯罪；以及起诉犯罪，”该市警察局长帕特里斯·福尔说。

涉嫌抢劫者落网

并非所有案件都需要进行细致的屏幕观看和侦查工作。

在里昂附近的南部城市维埃纳，一名 19 岁男子周日被警方逮捕，当时他戴着面具，手提装有偷来的衣服、鞋子和珠宝的袋子路过警察局。

警方称，该男子走出警局时被警员发现，试图逃跑，但很快被附近的其他警员抓获。

维埃纳检察官办公室告诉法新社：“他承认从一家商店偷窃了一些物品，并称他在街上捡到一个装满物品的袋子。”该办公室估计被盗物品价值4500欧元（5000美元）。