Florent Montaclair, a literature professor at Marie and Louis Pasteur University in Besançon, France, is facing an investigation for allegedly creating a fraudulent academic award known as the 'Gold Medal of Philology'. This award, which he claimed to have received in 2016 from the non-existent International Society of Philology, was presented during a ceremony at the French National Assembly. Prosecutors have opened a case against Montaclair for forgery, fraud, and misuse of academic titles, as neither the award nor the organization has any legitimate academic standing. Montaclair reportedly ordered the medal from a jeweler for approximately €250 (about $270 USD) and has awarded it to various scholars, including linguist Noam Chomsky, at public events. The investigation was prompted by inquiries from Romanian journalists in 2018 and was reignited after the university reported the matter to authorities last year. Montaclair denies any illegal activity, asserting that his intention was to create a new scholarly distinction, while prosecutors label the situation a 'gigantic fraud'. Public prosecutor Paul-Édouard Lallois emphasized the absurdity of the case, suggesting it could inspire a film or television series.