AI-Writing Allegation Gets Novel Removed from France’s Goncourt Prize List

Summary

Thélyson Orélien’s novel C’était ça ou mourir has been removed from the longlist for France’s Goncourt Prize after an anonymous online account claimed it was “almost entirely” written by AI. The novel, published by Grasset in August, had sold about 35,000 copies, won the Prix du roman Fnac, and secured translation rights in more than 20 countries. The allegation relied on Pangram, an AI-detection service, but other detection tools and French media assessments judged the book probably human-written, raising questions about the reliability of such systems. Orélien denied using AI and said the accusation was racially motivated, arguing that the book’s Haitian and Caribbean language, imagery, repetition, and rhythm were his own. The account’s author was later identified as Le Figaro columnist Samuel Fitoussi, who said he acted out of concern that AI could erode reading and writing. The academy initially urged caution, but later cited both the AI analyses and separate plagiarism allegations, including an accusation that Orélien copied from a preface to Louis Pauwels’s The Morning of the Magicians. The publisher Le Éditions du Boréal said it could neither confirm nor deny the claims and urged restraint. The Goncourt shortlist is due on 6 October, with the winner to be announced on 4 November.