On departmental 190, the town of Issou (Yvelines), adjoins the natural park of Vexin. There is a castle, a pretty town hall and a small church. But it is not so much for this that the municipality of almost 4,000 inhabitants has made itself known. Issou has – despite herself – become a Web phenomenon.
To understand the plot, you must first set the scene. In Spain, 2002 saw the appearance of a new television program, coloroas ratones, a talk show hosted by journalist Jesús Quintero. During the second season, in 2007, he invited Juan Joya Borja – now better known as “El Risitas” [« Le fou rire », en français]. Gray sweater, combed hair and missing teeth, the man tells of an old experience as a diver in a beach restaurant. A disastrous and hilarious first day during which the man saw his paella utensils being washed away by the tide.
And for El Risitas, the laughter quickly takes precedence over the story. A very communicative laugh, moreover, punctuated by the name of the presenter “Jesus” become “Issou” in the mouth of the comedian.
The piss off of the city
Since then, El Risitas has died. But the man remains a famous meme on the Internet which has not necessarily made everyone happy. In 2016, the town of Issou was the victim of a number of acts of vandalism, the general idea of which was born on the Jeuxvidéos.com forum: young people come to shout “Issou” under the windows of the inhabitants, several storefronts shops are ransacked and dozens and dozens of prank calls push the municipality to the limit over the summer. Near Gazette of Yvelines, a tradeswoman in a grooming shop admits to being “sinking”. Like her, many shops are afraid to go out of business. The same summer, the town hall announced that it had filed two complaints for cyberbullying… but which ultimately came to nothing.
From now on, a fake Wikipedia page is even dedicated to the “battle of Issou”. The summary of the “history” page explains: “The delirium ignites following the message of a forumer announcing the modification of the Lidl of Issou, having been renamed “Lidl du Petit Prolo”. Following this event, the kheys [« un membre » dans le vocabulaire de jeuxvideo.com] decide to organize themselves to change each name of building, street, or even to add stickers on Google Maps. The Lidl is renamed “Lidl du detit Prolo”, the Carrefour Market in “Market Risitas” and the pharmacy, the sports complex and municipal car park respectively in “pharmissou”, “sportissou”, “stassouissment”.
Coaster Oasis
Most of the time, however, the comments are mixed with racist and sexist remarks. “I am a fulfilled man. My dearest wish has been granted by the delicious Murielle. Her talents as a hairdresser allow me to fulfill my dream: I finally look like a gas chamber”, can we read in the opinions left with the hairdressing salon.
So for the small town, this pressure from the Internet is hard to bear. This is also evidenced by the competition organized in 2019 by the beverage brand Oasis. With the #OasisStreetCan operation, the brand had offered Internet users the chance to vote for a city that would have the chance to win its own can, its own “muse”, and its own grocery store.
Known as the white wolf in internet culture, Issou had largely established itself as the winning city on Twitter, pushed by the 18-25 forum brigade [pointé du doigt à plusieurs reprises ces dernières années pour ces activités pas toujours réglementaires, entre sexisme, racisme et homophobie… avec une modération toujours limitée]. Faced with a new resurgence of what the brand had described as “unacceptable” remarks, Issou was finally excluded from the competition.
“One of the many times the forum has gone too far”
The municipality does not seem to be out of the woods. On Google, the town hall of Issou only knows opinions around this meme. “Superb paella thank you” or “All my support for the city of Issou following the death of the village chief “El Risitas”. Behind every great city there is a great man, and “El Risitas” was the soul of the city of Issou”. In short, a “sacred place of pilgrimage” in internet culture.
Others since have made their my culpa. “On the topic, everyone seems to find the case hilarious. You have to admit that it was funny, but seriously, I still have the impression that the raid on Issou is (still) one of the many times the forum has gone too far”, reports a user on the forum 18 -25. “The montages, for example, should have remained discreet, been more subtle, to be part of the decor without hindering it. For the negative opinions, it was gratuitous nastiness and, there, clearly, the backlash, it would have been necessary to assume, ”concludes another.