A mayoral race in a small French town is gaining traction on social media thanks to their names, as Hittler faces off against Zielinski for re-election.
Charles Hittler, who currently serves as the mayor of Arcis-sur-Aube, 160km southeast of Paris, told the BBC he had gotten "the occasional joke" his entire life thanks to his name's resemblance to that of late German dictator Adolf Hitler.
However, it had "gone completely crazy" thanks to the name of one of his two opponents – far-right candidate Antoine Renault-Zielinski, whose name, if not his politics, was similar to that of Ukraine leader Volodymyr Zelensky.
"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," Hittler said.
"If people were talking about the town and our policies, that would be one thing. But all they're interested in is our names."
Renault-Zielinski told French broadcaster BFMTV he was alerted to their names trending on X on Sunday.
"I thought it was just a silly joke but, gradually, I realised that everyone is talking about us," he said.
While he understood the humour in the situation, Renault-Zielinski said he was neutral on the sudden internet fame.
"It doesn't make me laugh, but it doesn't bother me either," he said.
"It would be better if people were talking about Arcis for other reasons, but at least we're on the map."
Hittler was in the lead to be re-elected mayor.
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