He invented a prize similar to the Nobel and awarded it to himself. “Giant hoax” in France

A university professor allegedly invented the International Society of Philology and awarded himself a fictitious medal in a ceremony in the French parliament.

A French university professor is being investigated for allegedly orchestrating a elaborate academic farce and who created a fake international award, fictitious institutions and a self-awarded medal, presented during a high-profile ceremony at the French National Assembly.

Florent Montaclairprofessor of literature at the Marie and Louis Pasteur University, is said to have created the “International Society of Philology” and awarded himself a prestigious Philology Gold Medal in 2016. The ceremony, which was attended by renowned politicians, academics and scientists, presented the honor as equivalent to a Nobel Prize in the field of philology.

French prosecutors now claim the distinction was entirely fictitious. According to researchers, the International Philological Society did not exist in addition to websites allegedly created and managed by Montaclair himself. The supposed American university linked to the prize — the “University of Philology and Education” — also turned out to be fake, existing only online, with its address registered to a jewelry store in Delaware.

Prosecutors allege that Montaclair bought the medal from a Parisian jeweler for 250 euros before presenting her to himself in the public ceremony. He is being investigated on suspicion of forgery, use of forged documents, identity theft and fraud, although no charges have been formalized so far. Montaclair denies any wrongdoing.

Paul-Édouard Lallois, the prosecutor leading the investigation in eastern France, described the case as “a gigantic hoax” and said detectives spent months trying to unravel what he called “a web of lies.”

The case will have helped raise Montaclair’s academic profile. Before 2015, he was virtually unknown outside academic circles and spent his free time writing fantasy novels, many of them centering on vampires. After the awards ceremony, however, he gained greater recognition and even gave a TEDx talk, says .

The scheme began to fall apart in 2018 after Romanian journalists investigated another medal winner, Romanian academic Eugen Simion. The reports revealed that both the entity that awarded the award and the associated university existed only on sites hosted in French.

Investigators are now looking into whether Montaclair used the fabricated distinction and a questionable “state doctorate” from the fake university to secure a promotion and salary increase at your university. Although the degree was not officially recognized in France, Montaclair was later promoted to associate professor.

During a police search of his home earlier this year, Montaclair allegedly admitted to creating certain websites and ordering the medal, but claimed that inventing a prize was not illegal.

His lawyer, Jean-Baptiste Euvrard, defended his client, arguing that “everyone has the right to be creative” and insisting that the creation of a fictitious international prize did not constitute a crime.

If prosecutors decide to press charges and Montaclair is convicted, he could face up to five years in prison.