French television channel RMC Découverte publicly apologized and removed a documentary about the future of French weaponry from all its platforms after it emerged that a 3D simulation used to illustrate a future nuclear strike actually depicted Tel Aviv as the target.
The documentary, “Nouveau Rafale, drones et canons: la révolution dans l'armement français” — “New Rafale, Drones and Cannons: The Revolution in French Weaponry” — aired Sept. 1 and examined the next generation of French weapons systems, including the Rafale F5 fighter jet and the future ASN4G hypersonic nuclear missile, which is designed to be launched from the aircraft.
The removed video clip — Tel Aviv depicted under nuclear attack
The missile, which reports say could be 10 to 20 times more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb and have a range of more than 1,000 kilometers, does not yet exist operationally. According to the Brussels Signal website, France’s defense procurement agency, the DGA, commissioned its development in early June with the aim of introducing it into service around 2035.
To illustrate the weapon’s capabilities, the documentary used a 3D simulation showing a fighter jet launching a missile toward a coastal city, followed by a nuclear mushroom cloud rising above it.
According to Libération, French researcher Héloïse Fayet, who specializes in nuclear issues at the French Institute of International Relations, identified the city in the simulation as Tel Aviv rather than a fictional location and alerted the channel.
An independent Jewish-owned production company involved in making the documentary had taken the explosion footage from a video game, apparently without realizing the location depicted.
A simulation of the new Rafale fighter jet from the documentary
(Photo: Used under Section 27A of Israel’s Copyright Law)
On Sept. 18, RMC Découverte posted a statement on X, rather than on its official website, saying it was “immediately removing the documentary from all its platforms” and “suspending any further broadcast.”
The channel explicitly acknowledged that the simulation “uses an image of Tel Aviv” in Israel rather than a fictional city and offered its “sincere apologies” to viewers.
According to the broadcaster, the clip “came from a professional image database, which incorrectly identified and cataloged it.”
The channel added that it would consider “any appropriate legal action against those responsible for the error” and said a corrected version of the documentary, without the disputed segment, would be released later.
The apology came about 17 days after the original broadcast, which was watched by about 241,000 viewers, according to figures published in France.
Israel’s ambassador to France, Joshua “Yosh” Zarka, brought wider attention to the incident when he shared the clip on X, describing it as “an animated demonstration of a French nuclear strike on Tel Aviv.” He also noted that the explosion shown was significantly less powerful than the yield attributed to the ASN4G missile.
Zarka said, however, that he did not believe there had been malicious intent behind the use of Tel Aviv in the simulation.
The film’s director, Alex Gary, said he was “deeply shocked” by the incident. He said the description accompanying the clip in the image database did not indicate at any point that it depicted a real city or a location in Israel and that, had he known, he would not have included the simulation.
By then, however, the footage had already circulated and was amplified by figures hostile to Israel.