The day after the 19th Francophonie Summit, Emmanuel Khérad, recently ousted without reason from his show La Librairie francophone by the management of France Inter, gives his vision of French-speaking cultures, including those overseas. This is the opportunity to talk about his delicious book Look at the worldtravel stories full of elegance and grace published by Stock.
“Look at the world, travel stories to meet writers and artists” by Emmanuel Khérad relates twelve journeys. These also give rise to twelve meetings and dialogues with artists and authors such as Jean-Marie Le Clézio or Vénus Khoury-Ghata.
We met Emmanuel Kherad so he could tell us about the birth of this book.
The journalist also discusses his ouster from La Librairie francophone in May 2024, a show he created on France Inter and which he hosted for nineteen years:
– What was your project when writing? Look at the world ?
To give a gift to the public, to leave a mark following the numerous trips I have made personally or professionally.
I wanted to write a sharing book, which has always guided me in what I do. I wanted a book of communion with the public who has always followed me. Even recently, following my ouster from France Inter, he was incredibly supportive, incredibly supportive. He still is.
– How did you go about writing it?
This book is based solely on my memories, even if I helped myself by listening to certain rushes or reports again. But I wanted to make these trips little stories. The writers' comments are also not exhaustive. This is not a transcription for documentary purposes. Everything has been rewritten in a literary spirit.
– How did you choose the places and the authors with whom you interact in the book?
I chose twelve strong places for me such as the Côte d'Azur, Hyères and Reunion Island. I also remembered emblematic places like Lebanon. In this book, the authors present are writers with whom I have traveled, either in their country or in another country.
– How did the Francophonie enter your life?
Not being bilingual, I have always been more attracted to French culture rather than English culture, French song, French cinema, French literature.
I encountered the French-speaking world with France Inter, when I started making cultural programs. At one point, the four radio stations _ RTBF (Belgium), RTS (Switzerland), - and France Inter _ wanted to launch a major program around books, with authors and booksellers. We had to create a concept. I was asked to do it.
To create it, I chose to open up to the world, to open up to all cultures and to crossbreeding. It was then that I perceived the incredible strength and richness of the French-speaking world. I realized how much a common language facilitates exchanges and meetings. It allows the diversity of cultures to be merged into one.
I also realized how all the arts resonate together. With writers, we can talk about music and with musicians about writing. For me, French-speaking literature resonates with all French-speaking culture, all French-speaking arts, cinema, performing arts, etc.
This is why in my shows, I have always made the authors resonate and dialogue with other artists.
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Is the Francophonie a passion?
The Francophonie is much more than that. It is a state of being, a way of being open to the cultures of the world. Once a common language makes it easier to approach other cultures around the world, everything becomes possible.
The Francophonies in Limoges, for example, where I was invited, are a perfect illustration of this. Their Zébrures d’Automne festival brings together French-speaking artists from around the world. It is a space for encounters between cultures and the arts where everything resonates together, through the medium of the French language. The guest artists all talk about the same thing, about the world, their culture and their experiences. Everyone finds themselves in this.
– Do you feel French-speaking?
Through my Mediterranean origins, through my professional background open to French-speaking cultures, I feel mixed race and Creole, in the sense that Edouard Glissant gives to the terms crossbreeding and creolity.
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– In your opinion, why do the French not feel French-speaking?
I don't quite agree with you on this point. We realized with the incredible success of La Librairie francophone, that interest in the French-speaking world is there, as long as we strive to arouse it.
When we address the public by thinking of them first, by doing both intelligent and popular, which is reconcilable, it works! The Librairie Francophone has demonstrated this for 19 years. I received a lot of messages from listeners saying: “Thanks to you, I understood what the French-speaking world is.”
– Some understood it but not the majority of French people.
It is true that these messages also show that unfortunately, the French are not sufficiently aware of what the Francophonie can be, what it can bring them.
– What can be done to promote the French-speaking world?
Create programs so that the Francophonie is present in the French media. The French will then be able to understand that they are part of the same culture with other countries, sharing the French language.
We must also correctly integrate the overseas departments. They are not integrated into France in the same way as Brittany, Corsica, the PACA region or the North. It's a big problem.
With real integration, there would be another perception of the Francophonie because the overseas departments are Aimé Césaire, Edouard Glissant, Maryse Condé, Patrick Chamoiseau. All these authors played a major role for the French-speaking world.
Another problem is the image that France conveys in terms of Francophonie. How is it that Quebecers criticize France by saying that it does not defend the French language enough while they do? Perhaps because Quebecers have two languages… We feel threatened in this case. And it is not that of France.
Still. France must set an example. The President wanted to do it but I have the impression that we are currently going backwards. A Francophonie Summit in Villers-Côtteret, far from Paris, far from everything, shows this. It certainly doesn't help you feel French-speaking.
This is why the media, cultural, economic, social and political forces must create networks of influence to set up projects and create spaces, particularly media spaces, to support this Francophonie.
– You are in favor of a Ministry of Culture and La Francophonie. Would such a name be effective?
Absolutely. A Minister of Culture was in this state of mind, Françoise Nyssen. During a meeting, she told me that while being Minister of Culture, she was also Minister of La Francophonie.
It would be entirely logical for the Minister of Culture in France to also be Minister of La Francophonie.
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– Isn't France's withdrawn position insidiously linked to colonialism and neocolonialism?
We have to free ourselves from that. We must remember History and, at the same time, free ourselves from it. If we are not there yet, we have understood nothing about the concept of Francophonie. The Francophonie is much broader than the former colonial territories. The OIF includes 93 countries, many more than those which are former countries colonized by France.
The new generation of French-speaking audiences, artists and writers is no longer there. For them, there is a common language and a culture to share. Culture is alive everywhere. History is integrated, it is there but we have freed ourselves from it. Today, the Francophonie is a collegial, fraternal concept. With the French-speaking world, we are in fraternity and sharing. We want to share things together.
– Wouldn't there be a feeling of superiority of the French compared to other French speakers?
This feeling of superiority exists. Just look at the relations between France and Quebec. These relations are clearly marked by a dominant position of France, maintained by Quebec itself.
Quebec often takes France as a model. I do not hesitate to say to Quebecers: “Free yourself from France. Your identity is unique. Rely on it rather than on what France does.” An example: Quebec does not release any books in September to comply with the dictates of the French literary season. I find this incredible.
Not to mention French tourists, some artists, intellectuals and writers behave with a feeling of superiority when they come from France. I have seen it many times in African and Western countries. This feeling of superiority is there and, what's more, it also applies to the overseas departments. But they are part of France and the French have not understood this.
In their defense, this is a matter of political behavior which does not suggest that the overseas departments are on the same level as the mainland departments.
– How do you see your professional future?
First of all, we will continue to fight to defend this community which has been formed over the past few months to support La Librairie francophone. 1,500 renowned artists mobilized. The management of France Inter completely ignored them.
Another problem: France Inter had to do something else. However, the radio took over the same broadcast, with the same characteristics, the same conditions, everything that made La Librairie francophone original. This is a clear infringement of my copyright. An added show would have been a good thing. We cannot allow a theft of a concept to pass, even less so by a public service.
When we are a journalist, we have ethical principles that prevent us from participating in unfair practices. Here ethical principles have been set aside. So there is a real fight to be fought, a personal fight.
My professional life plan is to continue to fight to promote the French-speaking world, authors, artists. In the coming months, I will try to bounce back and see how to enrich the media with new programs on the subject. The idea is to shed light on the Francophonie, to show this pluralism to the French and internationally. It’s about showing how complementary we are, how essential this French-speaking culture is to our lives.
To read: Look at the world, travel stories to meet writers and artists by Emmanuel Khérad, from Stock, 225 pages, €19.90.
Comments collected by Muriel Mingau
