As massive protests swept France over the weekend, a Dutch filmmaker used artificial intelligence to generate a satirical video showing tourists sightseeing amid smoke, fire and rioters. Wytse Koetse’s short film has a group of Asian tourists being led through the protest-roiled streets of Paris by a seemingly-oblivious tour guide.
Why are the French protesting?
Protests in France began as a student-led movement over poor school conditions, teacher shortages and run-down facilities. The demonstrations quickly snowballed into a nationwide revolt against the rising cost of living and declining public services.
(Also read: Targeted curfews, protest bans: France steps up security after worst riots in years; 2,400 arrested)
When did the protests begin?
The protests that began on Saturday, September 17 soon spilled over into the week. Violence during Saturday’s nationwide protests was followed by Sunday unrest, where groups set fire to trash bins, bicycles and other objects in the streets. Businesses in Paris, Lyon, Marseille and other cities were looted.
What does the AI film on French protests show?
Wytse Koetse shows a group of tourists in France looking befuddled as they are led through riots and protests in the French capital. Their tour guide, speaking a mixture of French and English, encourages them to keep moving as blasts occur in close proximity and rioters set fire to shops.
The tourists walk past several French tourist hotspots like the Eiffel Tower (which was on fire in the AI video) and enjoy a soot-blackened croissant. At one point, their cheerful tour guide shows them the place in the Louvre Museum where the portrait of Mona Lisa once hung—with the implication being that it was removed by protesters.
“Planning a trip to Paris? Good news! Paris City Tours is now offering 50% off,” Amsterdam-based filmmaker and “AI creative” Wytse Koetse captioned the video on X.
How was the AI video generated?
Koetse explained on X that the video was generated using different AI tools. Still images were generated using OpenAI’s GPT Image 2.5 and Google’s Nano Banana 2.1. Then, Seedance 2.5—the AI video generation model created by ByteDance—was used to turn them into moving video sequences.
The music used in the video was also AI-generated on Suno v6.
Does the AI film mirror real experiences?
In a word: Yes.
France is among the world’s top 5 most-visited countries, according to data from the European Commission. The European country attracted over 150 million visitors last year.
Over the last few days, several videos have emerged showing tourists enjoying, or trying to enjoy, their stay in the European country.
(Also read: Renoir paintings recovered after French Riviera museum heist: What are the most famous art thefts in history?)