Municipal elections in the small French town of Arcis-sur-Aube (population 2,785) have sparked an internet frenzy due to the surnames of the candidates. The incumbent mayor seeking re-election is named Charles Hittler, while one of his two opponents is Antoine Renault-Zielinski. French social media has been flooded with "humorous" posts framing the race as a battle between the late German dictator Adolf Hitler and Ukraine's modern-day hero Volodymyr Zelensky, leading to widespread mockery and unwanted attention.
Charles Hittler lamented in an interview with the BBC: "It has gone completely crazy. All my life I've had the occasional joke made about my name. Sometimes people drew moustaches on my election posters. It was never a big deal. But now it's out of control. I've seen online articles saying '37% of the people of Arcis are Hitlerites!'. My wife is in tears." He expressed frustration that the focus is solely on names rather than the town's policies or his platform, highlighting the personal toll of the viral phenomenon.
The origin of the Hittler surname traces back to the Alsace region near the German border. His father was a shepherd who was taken to Germany during World War II for forced labour. In 1949, with memories of the war still fresh, family members advised changing the name, but the administrative hassle and cost prevented it. Hittler noted that only a few bearers of the name remain in France, as his Alsatian cousins had only daughters, causing the name to fade there. One of his sons pronounces it "Hit-lay" to avoid embarrassment, and his grandchildren have taken their mothers' surnames.
Despite this, Hittler's daughter and daughter-in-law are also running for council seats in other French towns. He explained his decision to keep the name: "Once you are known, the name begins not to matter. People look at the person behind the name. To my familiars, I was just 'Monsieur Charles'. So I decided to keep it."
In the election, Charles Hittler leads a centre-right list, while his opponent Antoine Renault-Zielinski is part of the far-right Patriot movement. Nationally, the far-right National Rally performs strongly in this area, about 160km southeast of Paris. The 28-year-old Renault-Zielinski, a customs officer, recently moved to Arcis-sur-Aube; the second part of his surname comes from his Polish mother. In an interview with BFMTV, he mentioned that people often ask if he is related to Zelensky, to which he must clarify the different spellings.
Arcis-sur-Aube holds historical significance: in 1814, Napoleon fought a battle here against invading Austrian, Prussian, and Russian armies, and two years later, German immigrants invited by the Russian government named their settlement Artsyz after the battle. The town is also the birthplace of French revolutionary Georges Jacques Danton. The run-off election pits Hittler against Renault-Zielinski and a third candidate, Annie Soucat, with Hittler leading narrowly after the first round.
Source: www.bbc.com