Mayor of French town apologises after plane flies over beach with a banner saying 'Go home f***ing tourists'

The mayor of a French town has been forced to apologise after a prankster flew a plane over a packed beach with a banner saying: "Go home f****** tourists". Photo / YouTube

By Harvey Day

The mayor of a French town has been forced to apologise after a prankster flew a plane over a packed beach with a banner saying: "Go home f****** tourists."

In the video comedian Remi Gaillard can be seen preparing his banner before taking off in a small aircraft.

The 42-year-old then parades the sign in front of hundreds of sunbathing tourists on Carnon beach near Montpellier in southern France, the Daily Mail reports.

He successfully flew the banner translated in English and Spanish but was stopped by police before he was able to parade his sign in French.

The mayor of the city of Mauguio Carnon, Yvon Bourrel, has taken to Twitter to apologise and denounce the stunt as "upsetting". Photo / YouTube

The mayor of the city of Mauguio Carnon, Yvon Bourrel, has taken to Twitter to apologise and denounce the stunt as "upsetting," according to The Local.

Bourrel went on the assure tourists they would be welcome to visit the town.

The video has been viewed more than one million times on YouTube since being uploaded on Monday.

Gaillard defended the prank as an act of humour and said: "What is pitiful to me is the rescue stations closing at 6.30pm when the beaches are still packed."

This is not the first time the prankster's antics have raised eyebrows.

The French comedian was previously accused of glorifying sex attacks after posting a video online in which he appears to be simulating sex with unsuspecting women.

Gaillard provoked criticism for the 'air sex' video in which he used careful camera angles to make it appear he is miming intercourse with women without their knowledge.

The online comedian however has defended the film, insisting all of the women involved gave their consent for the footage to be published and pointing out how the media is "feasting" on the video.