Thinking Sideways: Pont Saint Esprit poisoning

In an incident suspiciously similar to the Ken McElroy episode--except that there was no bullying redneck, no pickup truck and no gunfire--hundreds of residents of Pont St. Esprit in France found themselves hallucinating wildly. 7 died and many were institutionalized, and speculation is that it could have been ergot poisoning... or a CIA plot.