The Franco-Algerian author, arrested and detained in Algeria, was to hold a conference this Thursday evening in Nice. A ceremony to demand his release was held instead.
Personalities and elected officials gathered Thursday evening in Nice (Alpes-Maritimes), at the Villa Masséna, to support the Franco-Algerian author Boualem Sansal, arrested and detained in Algeria since November 16. At the same time, the writer should have held a conference about his works, particularly his latest, Vivre (Gallimard), then participate in the “culture and ecological transition forum for a sustainable Mediterranean”, which is being held until Friday in the Riviera capital.
The mayor of Nice Christian Estrosi (Horizons), who had already expressed strong criticism of his arrest like many other elected officials, decided to name him “honorary citizen of the city”. A symbolic distinction for Boualem Sansal, who last year was the honorary president of the Nice book festival. A little earlier in the morning, during the metropolitan council, a motion to ask that everything be done for his release was voted unanimously by the elected representatives of the assembly, all political colors combined.
Four letters of support written by the authors Irène Frain, Laurent Seksik, Didier van Cauwelaert and the editorialist Franz-Olivier Giesbert were read on Thursday evening in front of around a hundred people including representatives of local religions and the granddaughter of 'Albert Camus.
“Ambassador”
“Why wouldn’t the Quai d’Orsay appoint him ambassador? We can dream. We must dream when it comes to disarming an unbearable reality”put forward the idea in his missive the French writer Didier van Cauwelaert, also evoking the desire of his friend the academician Jean-Christophe Rufin (Goncourt 1997) to elect Boualem Sansal by an emergency procedure at the Academy French.
“You should have been with us to talk about what you dream of but it’s a photo that I have to address”regretted Christian Estrosi, speaking of a “free spirit”, “such a beautiful personality”and a “free man […] arrested for a misunderstanding about a past that never passes”. “This is news that revolts us”added the city councilor, denouncing “fanaticism”.
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The 75-year-old author, born in Algeria and who obtained French nationality this year, appealed his detention for “attacks on state security”. The writer is known for his free criticism of the Algerian regime through his novels and his speeches, but his arrest upon his arrival in the country appeared to be a sign of the more than tense diplomatic relations between Paris and the Algerian power. Boualem Sansal is placed under a committal order in a penitentiary unit of a hospital in Algiers, pending the study of his appeal by the indictment chamber, which has 21 days.
