France's Goncourt prize pulls novel over AI writing allegations

On September 25, 2026, the Goncourt Academy removed Haitian-Canadian author Thélyson Orélien's novel 'C’était ça ou mourir' from its prestigious prize longlist. The decision followed allegations from the anonymous X account 'Balance ton Claude' that the book was written using artificial intelligence. While Orélien denied the claims, pointing to a writing process starting in 2017, his Canadian publisher Boréal suspended his promotional tour, and the Academy cited concerns over AI integrity and plagiarism.

The Goncourt Academy's exclusion of the novel

• ▪The Goncourt Academy stated its decision to exclude Thélyson Orélien's novel "C’était ça ou mourir" was dictated by a desire to preserve the integrity of the Prix Goncourt and the Academy
• ▪The Goncourt Academy stated that Thélyson Orélien's novel "C’était ça ou mourir" was "in all likelihood largely the product of artificial intelligence."
• ▪On Friday, September 25, 2026, judges for the Prix Goncourt removed Thélyson Orélien's novel "C’était ça ou mourir" from the literary prize's longlist

Allegations by the Balance ton Claude collective

• ▪Samuel Fitoussi, a venture capital investor and columnist for Le Figaro, admitted on X to being part of the anonymous collective behind the "Balance ton Claude" account
• ▪The "Balance ton Claude" collective investigates suspected AI-generated books by running the texts through Pangram, an AI-detection software, and posting the results on social media
• ▪The allegations that Thélyson Orélien used artificial intelligence to write "C’était ça ou mourir" first appeared on the anonymous X account "Balance ton Claude."

Defense against the AI allegations

• ▪Thélyson Orélien's French publisher, Grasset, stated that the author began writing "C’était ça ou mourir" in 2017 and finished a draft in 2019, before generative AI programs were commercially available
• ▪Thélyson Orélien denied using artificial intelligence to write "C’était ça ou mourir" in an interview with Montreal's La Presse newspaper

Plagiarism allegations cited by the Academy

• ▪The Goncourt Academy noted that the plagiarism allegations against Thélyson Orélien concerning his novel C’était ça ou mourir were revealed through analyses conducted by researchers and journalists
• ▪The Goncourt Academy stated that its decision to exclude Thélyson Orélien's novel "C’était ça ou mourir" was made in light of plagiarism committed by the author over time

The Authors Guild's stance on AI detection

• ▪The Authors Guild tested multiple AI-detection software options and concluded that some commonly used consumer-facing tools other than Pangram are wildly inaccurate, presenting a major risk for authors
• ▪The Authors Guild stated that publishers should never cancel a contract or pull a book based solely on accusations or the results of AI-detection tools

Debatable claims

• ▪Generative AI poses an existential threat to the future of literature
• ▪The Goncourt Academy was justified in disqualifying Thélyson Orélien's novel
• ▪Literary institutions should not disqualify books based on AI-detection software