French mayor's April Fools' Day joke about Ikea backfires

The mayor of a French city apologized after posting an April Fools' Day joke on social media about furniture giant Ikea coming to her town, the BBC reported.

Beauvais Mayor Caroline Cayeux posted on Facebook and Twitter to announce the arrival of a new superstore that would create 4,000 new jobs, and many of the city’s residents believed her "great news.”

Hours later, Cayeux confessed that the news was untrue and apologized for a “not very wise joke,” the BBC reported.

Cayeux told French media she regretted that her sense of humor “was not shared by everyone.” She wrote on her Facebook page that her message had been intended to "attract the attention of potential investors, including Ikea," adding that she had "too much respect" to mock people out of work.

Social media users did not buy the apology. One Twitter user wrote, "We will all vote for you in the next election ... April Fool's," the BBC reported.

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