Gilles Martin-Chauffier takes on the role of a Qatari diplomat to summarize, from a point of view radically different from Parisianism, a pretty crazy French political year.
The literary exercise is not new but has proven itself. There's nothing like the perspective of a stranger to better analyze your own society. Since the Persian Letters, several intellectuals have attempted to confront French civilization with some of its contradictions using a different perspective.
Gilles Martin-Chauffier, without renewing the genre, offers a topical reflection on the past French political year. To try to decipher these upheavals, he slips into the shoes of Hassan, a Qatari diplomat stationed in Paris, telling his brother back home every month about his discoveries of deep France or Parisian customs.
When he travels to the provinces (Landes, Savoie), it is quite well regarded. The France of the terroirs has changed little and the faults of yesterday are still present. On the other hand, when it comes to politics, we are surprised that this Hassan has so many criticisms against President Macron or François Hollande, and very few against Marine Le Pen. He is merciless for the last socialist president: “who will only remain in History for his five years of nap at the Élysée”. He tends to forget a little quickly that during this five-year term, Islamist terrorism violently struck and devastated the country (Charlie, Bataclan, Nice) and that the reaction of the presidency was up to the mark. That President Hollande was the first to cut ties with Putin (while Sarkozy…) or did everything to bring down Assad while other deputies were on the contrary going to strut in Damascus.
It is easy to deconstruct the old glory of France, but if they had been less partisan, these Qatari letters could have been remembered. Missed.
“Qatari letters” by Gilles Martin-Chauffier, Albin Michel, 224 pages, €19.90 (published January 8)
France
