Fake €15 million Sicily villa story hits French presidential candidate

A fake story on X has claimed that former French prime minister and current Le Havre Mayor Édouard Philippe bought a luxury villa in Sicily, and linked it to a real but unrelated investigation into his alleged misuse of public funds.

A video shared online said Philippe acquired the estate from Le Havre local councillor Stéphanie de Bazelaire, and raised questions about how the alleged purchase was financed.

It was initially shared by a mock-up Italian online newspaper called “Repupplica.com”, which has now been taken down.

The domain, however, sounded very similar to the genuine news outlet Repubblica.it. In other words, a fake website designed to be easily mistaken for the real one.

The video also cites an article by news outlet Affari Italiani, which says that Philippe is indeed being investigated. The article, however, has been taken out of context, as the investigation doesn’t mention a house in Sicily.

Repubblica did not publish the story, no credible source confirms that Philippe bought a €15-million Sicilian villa, and there is no evidence connecting that case to a villa in Sicily.

But, as often happens with fake stories, the names involved were not picked at random.

Philippe and de Bazelaire are involved in a real, but completely separate, investigation in France concerning the management of a multi-million-euro digital-development project in Le Havre.

The investigation includes allegations of favouritism and misuse of public funds.

However, Philippe has denied any wrongdoing, and the investigation is still ongoing.

Philippe had already been targeted with fake online stories ahead of France’s presidential election. One of them falsely claimed he had dementia.

Other presidential candidates like Raphaël Glucksmann and Gabriel Attal were also targeted.

French authorities have linked some of these operations to pro-Russian networks, and prosecutors are examining suspected foreign interference targeting the potential candidates.

The first round of the next presidential election will be held on 18 April 2027.