French mayor apologises for April Fool's Day joke promising new Ikea store and jobs

The locals did not see the funny side
AFP/Getty Images
Martin Coulter3 April 2018

A French mayor has apologised following online backlash to her April Fool's Day joke about a new Ikea store and hundreds of jobs.

Caroline Cayeux told her 10,000 followers the Swedish furniture giant would be opening a superstore in her Beauvais constituency, bringing hundreds of jobs.

But locals were not amused when the mayor revealed the announcement was a seasonal gag.

She told French media she was sorry that "the sense of humour was not shared by everyone", adding that a new commercial development outside the northern town would actually bring 4,000 jobs in the near future.

One local, Julien, wrote on Twitter: "Yeah, it's funny to make us think there are jobs when there aren't any."

Another, ArMelo, said: "We will all vote for you in the next election...joke."

Ms Cayeux later apologised, admitting her choice of topic had been "unwise", explaining that her communications team sends out a fake April Fool's Day announcement every year.

She told Le Parisien: "This was a mistake and we will do better next year. On Sunday, I spent the day responding to Internet users and did not remove the original tweet or any jokes criticising."

The Standard approached Ikea for comment.

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