Our mothers all told us when we were young that liars go to hell. But if you live in Moncrabeau - a small village in France with around 800 inhabitants - if you lie, well you go to the ‘Lying Academy’!
Indeed every year in August this village holds a festival called Liars' Festival, where self proclaimed liars have ‘lying duels’ making up elaborate lies but sticking to some very intricate and important rules. The winner or the ‘King of the Liars’ then joins the ‘Lying Academy’ a prestigious body of 40 individuals who are very highly regarded and take their positions very seriously.

It all seems funny but on a more serious note: how can we encourage lying? Is there not enough fibbing in the world we have to hold festivals to discover who the best liar is and then reward them?!
I don’t even want to know what kind of children are leaving areas such as Moncrabeau after they have been brought up thinking that the truth restricts you and doesn’t set you free!

By Karim