A series of unprovoked vigilante attacks on France’s Roma community have erupted after false reports spread online about child abductions.
But police say the warnings of a “man in a white van” kidnapping children off the streets are “totally unfounded”.
Some 20 people were arrested on Monday night after attacking the Roma community with makeshift weapons.
A police chief in one of the suburbs warned officers of “a psychosis that is starting to set in.”
Claims of a man in a van abducting children and others – reportedly to fuel prostitution rings or the illegal organ trade – have been circulating online in recent weeks.
Sometimes the van is red, or yellow, in a different region, or of Bulgarian or Romanian origin. The reports have spread rapidly on Whatsapp, Snapchat, and other social media networks.
But there is no evidence of any of them.
“Rumours about kidnapping children with a van are completely unfounded. No abductions have been proven,” Paris police wrote on Twitter on Monday.
“Do not share this false information, do not incite violence,” it warned.
❌Les rumeurs de kidnapping d'enfants avec une camionnette sont totalement infondées. Aucun enlèvement n'est avéré.
❗️Ne relayez plus cette fausse information, n'incitez pas à la violence. pic.twitter.com/FRWPZnpakP— Préfecture de police (@prefpolice) March 26, 2019
