Où est Le Listenbourg? French have fun with fictional country

A fake European state called Listenbourg has taken on a life of its own on French social media, with big brands including Amazon, national politicians and official organisations playing along with the joke that it really exists.

Dozens of spoof Twitter accounts purporting to represent Listenbourg government institutions, and even a Wikipedia entry, have sprung up in the two days since an influencer called Gaspardo posted a fake map of Europe showing a land mass the size of France jutting into the Atlantic from Portugal and Spain.

The post was supposed to be a dig at what France sees as the geographical ignorance of Americans. “I’m sure Americans don’t even know the name of this country,” the caption said.

With the #Listenbourg hashtag viral and