► Laurent Larcher facing the Rwandan genocide
“Dad, what did we do in Rwanda? », by Laurent Larcher
“The shock. Rwanda 1994: the genocide of the Tutsi”, collective
“It is time to tell you, my dear daughter, what we did in Rwanda. For four years, between 1990 and 1994, France aided and supported a regime which was preparing the extermination of part of its population, the Tutsi. (…) Under our shield, he was able to prepare and implement his “final solution”.” These are the first lines of the book signed by Laurent Larcher. Africa specialist serving the world The Crosshe has been interested in Rwanda and the genocide for many years, particularly questioning French policy during the events of 1994.
Our journalist also took part in the collective work The Shock, Rwanda 1994under the direction of Stéphane Audoin-Rouzeau, Annette Becker, Samuel Kuhn, Jean-Philippe Schreiber and produced with the collaboration of Rwandan, French and Belgian writers, historians, journalists, jurists, researchers. Intellectuals from different disciplines who talk about the shock that the Tutsi genocide was for them. Thirty years after the tragedy, valuable elements for reflection on this moment of extreme violence.
Threshold, January 2024, 160 p., €17
Gallimard, Mars 2024, 432 p., €22
► “Kamala Harris, the biography”, by Alexis Buisson
Initially published in 2023 and updated last September in view of the American presidential election, this biography paints a political and intimate portrait of Kamala Harris, the vice-president of the United States who became the Democratic Party candidate against Donald Trump in 2024. Correspondent of The Cross and other French-speaking titles in the United States, Alexis Buisson interviewed dozens of people, met members of the elected official's family, interviewed collaborators, but also childhood friends, experts and even enemies of the vice-president.
Born in California, daughter of Indian and Jamaican parents, married to a New York Jew, Kamala Harris embodies the American melting pot, explains Alexis Buisson. Even though she will not settle in the White House, her career remains impressively dense, which our correspondent transcribes in this documented biography. Having gone from local prosecutor in San Francisco to number two in the federal state, her already exciting life takes a new turn when Joe Biden, 82, withdraws from the race. Within days, she found herself on the front lines, with too little time to catch up. His rise remains no less astonishing.
Éditions de l'Archipel, September 2024, 240 p., €21
► “Bouaké, the last “cold case” of Françafrique”, by Thomas Hofnung
Mistake, treason or state scandal? Twenty years after the event, the question remains unanswered. Saturday, November 6, 2004, at midday, a French army base located in Bouaké, Ivory Coast, was surprise bombed by an Ivorian plane. The French response was not long in coming, causing a spiral of violence throughout the country.
In the spring of 2021, the political leaders of the time – including several ministers – were heard by the Paris court. The contradictions in their statements have only deepened the mystery of what really happened in Ivory Coast. Why did you destroy, in retaliation and without warning, all the Ivorian planes and helicopters? And why not have questioned and judged the pilots at the controls of the planes, even though they were made available to the French authorities?
Never since the attack on the “Drakkar” building in Beirut, twenty years earlier, had the French army suffered such a loss. But who is responsible for this bombing? Head of global service The CrossThomas Hofnung, who covered the events at the time for Liberationled the investigation. If, at the end of this meticulous work, the journalist unravels the many strings of the Bouaké “cold case”, the affair continues to haunt memories and fuel suspicions.
Fayard, October 2024, 250 p., €20.90
► “The Decisive Hours”, by Stéphane Bataillon
The decisive hours recounts the very first silent retreat of Stéphane Bataillon, a senior reporter at La Croix L'Hebdo. As we approach fifty, our journalist shares the aspiration of many of our contemporaries who wish to finally take the time to take stock of a quest for meaning. You still have to dare, stop and let yourself be shaken by this spiritual experience. An invitation to take full advantage of these decisive hours to dig into your inner life and continue your journey, with lightness and poetry.
Step by step, he simply recounts his week spent at Landévennec Abbey. Throughout the pages, he describes both the small concrete things of monastic daily life and the most intimate effects of this spiritual exercise. Retirement led him to request baptism in the Protestant church.
A few months later, he risked a week of fasting at Pradines Abbey. In the space of a year, Stéphane Bataillon carries out a very personal journey which joins the journey of all those who find a place, a community which advances in the search for a more harmonious life, a peaceful faith. Stories and encounters from a year in search of meaning constitute a book that will guide the reader to meditate and find silence within themselves.
Desclée de Brouwer, November 2024, 168 p., 17.90 €
► “En Vérité”, Jacques Arnould in conversation with Théo Moy
Attentive to the dialogue between science and faith, concerned with the weakest, invested in ethical reflection at the National Center for Space Studies, Jacques Arnould first led these different commitments as a Dominican priest for more than twenty years. In 2010, he left the order of preachers for the love of a woman. Engineer, historian of science, he is also theologian. He is the author of numerous works, mainly on the relationship between science and faith.
The frank and friendly conversation is led by Théo Moy, journalist from The Cross within the “Live” debate center. The former religious retraces his journey, sometimes colorful but always rich in spiritual dynamism. Throughout the pages, he recounts his meetings with researchers who explore Mars and the cosmos, his nights with prostitutes on rue Saint-Denis, in Paris, his experience as prior of the Saint-Jacques convent…
Convinced of the relevance of the Gospel in today's world, Jacques Arnould entrusts Théo Moy with fascinating reflections on the Church, its crises and especially its future; he questions in particular the excesses of clericalism. This book stands out as an invitation to move forward, the testimony of a man who lives his faith as a never-ending quest.
DDB, avril 2024, 176 p., 17,90 €
