French Professor Investigated for Awarding Himself Fake Prize
Investigators say he invented the prize and awarding body to bolster his credentials, and the university has suspended him indefinitely.
- Besançon professor Florent Montaclair is under investigation for inventing the International Society of Philology and its Gold Medal, which he awarded to himself. The University where he taught for 20 years has suspended him indefinitely.
- Montaclair began inventing the prize in 2015, culminating in a June 2016 ceremony at the National Assembly in Paris. He admitted to police he ordered the fabricated medal from a jeweller for €250 before the event.
- After Montaclair named Romanian philologist Eugen Simion as a recipient, journalists in Romania exposed the hoax in 2019. The deception remained unnoticed in France until last year, when a colleague recalled the rumours during preparations for a fake news discussion.
- Prosecutor Paul-Edouard Lallois is investigating whether the fabricated honors illegally advanced Montaclair's career. Lallois noted the difficulty of proving criminal charges, calling it "an unlikely tale, it could be out of a film."
- The investigation impacts the University's reputation and the broader academic community. If prosecutors prove the falsified credentials affected hiring or promotion, institutions may tighten verification processes for academic credentials.
14 Articles
14 Articles
A Frenchman wins the Nobel Prize for Philology, even though it doesn't exist. No one suspects for a long time. The professor receives a salary increase and more reputation. Now investigators are on the mat.
He Had Created a "False Nobel": Teacher Florent Montaclair Dismissed From the University of Besançon
Florent Montaclair, a professor-researcher at the University of Besançon, is suspected of inventing the "Golden Medal of Philology", presented as the equivalent of the Nobel Prize, and of falsifying a diploma.
Fake Nobel prize, real expulsion from Besançon university
A lecturer-researcher from Besançon is at the centre of a scandal rocking academia: he is suspected of having fabricated an international philology award in order to give it to himself. The ruse has seen him expelled from his university.
The professor invented an international academic prize modeled after the Nobel Prize and awarded it to himself and other prominent intellectuals, including Noah Chomsky.
According to authorities, Florent Montaclair not only invented the prize, but also the international organization behind it and the American university to which it was allegedly linked.
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