French voters have launched a campaign to demand that former United States President Barack Obama runs in the country’s upcoming presidential elections. They are collecting signatures on an online petition, Obama17, and putting up posters across Paris with the slogan “Oui on peut” [Yes we can].

France will hold its presidential elections from April. The campaigners hope to garner one million signatures by March 15. Till Friday morning, as many as 30,000 people had signed the petition.

Although French law does not allow a foreign national to run for president, one of the campaigners said that they started it to offer an idea of a globalised government. “We would do better to pay people who are competent to fill important positions, rather than getting stuck with the same people we’ve had for 20 years,” Antoine, the founding member of the online petition, told The Verge. The campaigners, however, admitted that it is ultimately a joke.

Antoine and his three friends had started the campaign on February 20. “In a campaign where we only talk about the scandals of [François] Fillon or the rise of [Marine] Le Pen, at a certain moment we told ourselves well, why not? We just wanted to say that we’ve had enough of all of these guys,” Antoine told The Verge. He added that Obama was the only politician who ignited some enthusiasm in him. “The only guy who’s ever made me feel that way is Obama.”

Another campaigner who identifies himself as Barack told The Independent that the decision to launch the petition was born out of a friendly conversation. “We are fed up of voting against people rather than for someone we actually support every time. So we thought it would be ingenious to give the power to Obama, since he’s now available.”

Apart from far-right leader Marine Le Pen, the other presidential candidates include far-Left leader Jean-Luc Melechon and centrist leader from the Socialist Party, Emmanuel Macron. The right’s leading candidate Francois Fillon has been embroiled in a corruption scandal. The final rounds of the elections will be held on May 7.