Paris: French judges jailed a man for a year on Wednesday for posing as the nephew of the wife of French President Emmanuel Macron to get VIP treatment.
The 35-year-old managed to trick the French embassy in Bangladesh into allowing him to visit a Rohingya refugee camp and meet the ambassador. He also got an upgrade in a luxury hotel in Hong Kong.
However, his other attempts at obtaining perks by impersonating Brigitte Macron’s nephew - including tickets to a Formula 1 race - were not successful.
The court in Paris sentenced him to 30 months in jail, to be served at home under electronic surveillance, with 18 months suspended.
“The court chose to punish the seriousness of the facts,” the judge said, but added that his willingness to accept long-term psychiatric care was taken into account.
A psychological report described him as a “pathological liar” but did not conclude that he had a proven psychiatric disorder.
The convicted man, who last tried a scam in 2018, told the court he was attracted by “status, prestige, privileges” but denied having acted for money or “to do harm”.
The man had previously been convicted of 17 similar or related offences.
