Time Travelling French President

Hervé Morin, a French presidential candidate and former defence minister has become a national laughing stock as he boldly claimed he witnessed the Allied landings at Normandy in 1944, an event which took place 17 years before he was born.

Morin, who is a rank outsider for April's election, polling less than one percent is 50 years old. He made the claim during a campaign speech in Nice;

"You, some of you, with white hair, you saw nearby the landings in Provence... I, who saw the Allied landings in Normandy, we have lived through things much more difficult than what we go through today," he claimed.

Unsurprisingly his comments were instantly seized upon by the internet community.

"For a man born in 1961 to take part in the Allied landings of 1944 is a great achievement," wrote Voici.fr.

His Wikipedia page was instantly updated to describe him as a "pioneer of time travel" following his curious D-Day claim.

Internet jesters quickly homed in on the nickname of "Morin McFly", it spawned a raft of internet parodies. "I was there at the Big Bang, it was overrated," wrote one.

"I was in Rouen when Joan of Arc was burned," claimed a second.

"You should have seen the Trojans' face when the Greeks came out of that horse," said a third.

Taking the jokes on the chin Mr. Morin posted on Twitter: "Well done for your humour! I always said the French were full of creative talent."