The mayoral elections in France have gone viral because of the candidates’ surnames
This has been reported by French and international media. The
local elections in the small French town of Arcy-sur-Aube have suddenly become an internationally notable story, not because of the candidates’ manifestos, but due to the similarity of their surnames. It is precisely this that has sparked a wave of jokes, memes and discussions on social media.
The spotlight fell on the incumbent mayor, Charles Hitler, and his opponent, Antoine Reno-Zelensky. The phonetic similarity of these surnames to those of Adolf Hitler and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is what made the local campaign go viral. At the same time, the election itself remains a standard local campaign, rather than the symbolic political showdown that people online have begun to attribute to it.
Following the first round, Charles Hitler finished first with 37.81% of the vote, but failed to clear the threshold for victory in the first round. Antoine Reno-Zelensky secured 29.99%. A number of reports also note that there was another candidate in the campaign, Annie Soukaite, and that the final format of the second round depended on local procedures and decisions following the first vote.
Charles Gittler himself, according to media reports, says he has been used to reactions to his surname since childhood and has long since learnt to take it in his stride. Antoine Reno-Zelensky also explained that his double surname has family origins: one part is French, the other is linked to his mother’s Polish roots. Both candidates emphasise that local issues remain their priority, rather than the hype surrounding their surnames.
For the casual reader, it is important to understand that this news is not about some unusual shift in French politics, but rather about media hype. The unusual coincidence of surnames has turned an ordinary mayoral election in a small town into a viral story that has been discussed far beyond the borders of France.
The decisive round of voting is scheduled for 22 March. It is then that the residents of Arcy-sur-Obe will decide who will lead the municipality going forward. Despite the buzz on social media, the campaign itself, according to media reports, is focused on topics typical of local elections – infrastructure, day-to-day city management and the needs of the community.
