A Paris couple just became the face of the "This is fine" meme, and all it took was a glass of wine and a very large fire.
Video filmed Saturday, Oct. 17, near the Arc de Triomphe shows a man and woman chatting and smoking at an outdoor table while flames rise behind them. CNN reported a burning trash can glowed in the distance as the two talked calmly, and Gulf News reported viewers compared the scene to the cartoon dog sipping coffee in a burning room.
Piers Morgan joined in on X, writing that "nothing stops them having a drink, a smoke, and a gossip." Another clip from the same night shows a jogger weaving through a smoke-filled street past burning e-bikes. The footage comes from nationwide protests over the cost of living and declining public services that turned into some of France's worst rioting in years, and the prime minister has since imposed curfews in parts of Paris and Marseille. Not everyone laughed, with some pointing out how close the flames were to the café.
