In Moncrabeau, these true false stories are worth their weight in salt: Who will succeed the sovereign fabulist?

The International Festival of Liars is taking place this weekend of August 2 and 3, with its unmissable lying competition on Sunday.

For 227 years, Moncrabeau, a small riverside village in the Gers region, has been the world capital of liars! On Sunday, August 3, at 3 p.m., the international lying competition will reshuffle the cards of truth, and the crown of the one who has worn it for two years, Lord Alain Antoine .

Who will succeed the sovereign fabulist? According to the tradition inherited from an 18th ^- century ritual, each candidate who tells his lie, "a clever mix of truth, lies, and humor," will be put to a vote. Each academic, equipped with a salt shaker and a wooden spoon, allocates two to ten spoonfuls of salt depending on his perception of the lie. Two little pages collect the salt from the jury using a jute bag, which is given to the "weights and measures engineers" for weighing. The saltiest story wins, and the king is crowned!

For their participation, each candidate receives, only on the day of the festival, a Liars' Certificate - equivalent to a bac + 10 - allowing them to "disguise the truth at all times and in all places".

To wait until the coronation of the 2025 king and his parade through the village streets, the festivities will open on Saturday, August 2 at 5 p.m. To kick off the nonsense, there will be a treasure hunt, Olympics, and a tapas evening before the traditional mass, set for 6:30 p.m. The fun will continue the next day with the garage sale and the gourmet market. On Sunday, August 3, the Cabris d'Albret will indulge in folk dancing from 10:30 a.m., and the post-election evening will be animated by the Têtes brûlées band.

Hundreds of visitors are expected for this festive weekend. And to prolong the fun, the village of Moncrabeau is to be discovered through its "liar's circuit" for adults and children, a free and self-guided tour lasting nearly an hour, an unusual journey to familiarize yourself with the history of this village, tinged with Gascon humor. It's worth the detour... I swear!

Contact: 06 74 33 77 83 or 06 04 42 24 29. Website: www.academiedesmenteurs.fr