By Marco Hugo Barsotti MHB 
You are listening to a new special of Francia Oggi in podcast and on Centrale Milano 1575 kHz.
Electoral scandal and compensation claims
The mayor of Nice, Éric Ciotti, has decided to join as a civil party in the judicial inquiry launched into the so‑called “pig‑head” case, which emerged during the municipal election campaign. The decision, formalized by lawyer Franck de Vita, comes after revelations published by Nice‑Matin, which highlighted an alleged parallel operation on the fringe of Christian Estrosi’s campaign.
According to sources, an unofficial team was allegedly tasked with operating on social networks, creating “fan” pages and spreading content hostile to Ciotti. The budget earmarked for promotion on Meta was said to be fifty thousand euros. Moreover, a participant claimed to have received a request to produce, with the help of artificial intelligence, fake videos and a forged recording that would involve Ciotti, Cyril Hanouna and Vincent Bolloré.
The same testimonies suggest that, in the event of Estrosi’s victory, the person in charge of the operation and one of his collaborators would have been promised a public contract worth two million euros with the Métropole. If confirmed, these facts would constitute one of the gravest scandals of the Fifth Republic.
Ciotti emphasized that his decision is not based on a single article, but on the desire to have the damages suffered and the responsibilities of those involved established. His becoming a civil party is intended to ensure that justice can shed full light on any electoral manipulations, financial flows, and possible criminal liabilities.
The mayor also reiterated the right of Nice’s citizens to know whether their vote was influenced by illicit operations. “I trust the judiciary to let the truth emerge and democracy be protected,” Ciotti said, closing a chapter of an electoral campaign marked by accusations of violence and disinformation.
Rachel’s Editorial – The “pig‑head case” that isn’t a steak at all
I will now read my current editorial to you.
Here we find ourselves once again facing that classic media playbook: a sensational story, scooped by Nice‑Matin, is used to light the fire of controversy. The press gave us the dramatic scenario of a “mafia brawl” behind Estrosi’s campaign, with fan pages, AI‑generated fake videos and €50,000 of boosting on Meta. And us? As always, we have already perked up our ears and suspected the story was more smoke than fire. The pompous tone of the releases, the insistence on round numbers, and the references to artificial intelligences more inclined to make memes than to manufacture evidence, all sound like a low‑budget film.
Then Éric Ciotti arrives, declaring himself a civil party, ready to brandish his lawyer like a sword of Damocles against the “social media secret agents”. But the truth is that, so far, there has been neither a single official document nor a verifiable accounting trace. The very complaint, if it were real, would have been a golden opportunity for the judiciary to carry out a clean‑up operation, yet the reality seems closer to a “protest cut” staged by those who want to feed the theater of the absurd.
We, who follow political news with a critical eye, had already sensed the smell of manipulation: an accusation ready to lay the blame on a rival, a hypothetical budget that pops out of nowhere, and a “two‑million contract” that sounds like a barter promise. The fact that no investigator has confirmed anything so far only confirms one thing: the story was built more to generate clicks than to denounce a real crime. And, judging by the authorities’ silence, the “almost mafia‑like message” is more a bar‑room tale for newspaper headlines than a verified fact.
So, dear readers, let us continue to remember that in the age of fraudulent media “buzz”, the first rule is not to trust those who hurl a knife from afar. The “pig‑head” case demonstrates, once again, that truth has a slow capacity to emerge, while gossip burns away in a fire of social‑media pages. Let us stay vigilant, because behind every announced scandal there is often only the noise of a well‑orchestrated disinformation campaign.
Koan of the day
Monaco: Master, why do the media love turning a doubt into an almost‑mafia drama?
Master: Because drama is a brighter mask than truth; when the light is dim, people prefer to wear a dazzling mask that blinds them.
Monaco: Then, what is the point of seeking truth in a sea of illusions?
Master: The point is that, sailing among the waves, even the most ruined boats still reach shore; and the shore, ironically, is always the starting point of a new journey.
That’s all for now. From the Paris editorial office, I am Rachel Costa: this is FranciaOggi with Centrale Milano 1575 kHz.