The justice minister whose son is in prison for murder and President Hollande's hidden daughter by the Socialist candidate for mayor of Paris are just two examples of internet rumours that lack the tiniest grain of truth.None of these stories have the tiniest grain of truth. All are hoaxes, inventions or malicious rumours, often far right or racist in tone or vocabulary, reports The Independent.
For several months, such stories have been spreading through France by word of mouth, text, or email. Despite rebuttals, they constantly resurface on the chat lines of populist websites that claim to reveal the truth that the mainstream media hides. Some, such as the allegation that Ms Taubira is a multimillionaire, pop up on more respectable "question and answer" sites online. The rumours surf on the fractious, insurrectionary mood into which France has plunged in recent weeks. They also help to deepen it.
Similar nonsense circulated during Nicolas Sarkozy's presidency. But the intensity, and evident political spin, of the electronic rumour-mongering increased since the left won the presidential and parliamentary elections last year.
"We are faced with a flood of anti-left hoaxes – so many that we don't have time to counter them all," said Guillaume Brossard, who runs Hoaxbuster, a French site which identifies and corrects internet lies. "Such stuff existed under Sarkozy, but nothing like as much."
France, like the US, is vulnerable to rumour-mongering because it has an instinctive distrust of Paris, politicians and the media. The late President François Mitterrand did, after all, hide an illegitimate daughter for most of the 14 years of his presidency. The mainstream media has, until recently, had a poor record of exposing political scandals.
Rumour is especially virulent when France is angry and depressive. A leaked report by regional prefects – national government administrators – last week described the nation's mood as "dangerous", especially in rural areas and among the provincial middle classes.
Read more of this report from The Independent.