“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.”
Both candidates told BFM they were taken aback by the attention after the small election went viral after the first round of voting.
None of the candidates won a majority and the top three face a second round of voting.
Hittler will find out on March 22 if his time at the top is coming to an end.
Hittler led the first round with 411 votes (38%), ahead of Annie Sourcat on 350 votes (32%) and Renault-Zielenski on 326 votes (30%).
Since the war began in Ukraine people have been asking Renault-Zielenski, a customs inspector by trade, if he is related to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukraine comedian turned wartime leader.
“I always reply, no, because the ending Zielenski with an i is Polish, unlike the y in Zelenskyy, which is Ukrainian,” he told BFM.
“I began seeing messages about our names circulating on X and I thought it was just a silly joke. But gradually I realised that everyone is talking about us.
“I understand why people find it funny. Personally, it doesn’t make me laugh, but it doesn’t offend me either.
“I’d prefer people talked about the town for other reasons, but at least thousands of people are now hearing about the area.”
The name “Hittler” was dying out in France, with the mayoral candidate’s cousins all having daughters, he told the BBC.
One of his sons pronounces it “Hit-lay” to soften the name in conversation.
“I’m fine with it, I’m used to it,” Hittler told BFM, saying he tried to be proud to carry his father’s name, who came from Alsace on the German border.
The region was part of Germany from 1871 to 1918 after the Franco-Prussian War, and during World War II.
“If I kept my name, it’s to show that with a name like that, not everyone is an idiot! It all depends on what you do with it.”
