El Jalapeño: Guanajuato residents mistake arrival of French acrobats for third ‘French Intervention’

All stories in El Jalapeño are satire and not real news. GUANAJUATO, Guanajuato — Civic vigilance reached a 160-year high on Saturday evening after local residents mistook performers from Paris for a third French military invasion. The Chaillot National Theater, based in France, arrived in Guanajuato to perform a circus piece titled “Vértigo” as part of the 54th International Cervantino Festival.

When residents saw the French acrobats working high above historic plazas, they assumed the French government was intent on imposing another monarchy or collecting unpaid debts, reminiscent of previous French interventions in 1838 and 1862. Municipal historians, shopkeepers, and neighborhood watch groups expressed suspicion, recalling past events where French arrivals led to occupation and constitutional changes.

However, it turned out the French performers were simply creating an aerial performance piece. Highliner Jean-Claude Moreau even walked across a suspended wire, which locals took as an attempt to dominate the historic center. Only after municipal officers assured the public that France was merely a festival guest did the confusion subside.