And « pornographic and psychologically dangerous content »: thus the SOS Education association presents The Lost Children’s Club by Rebecca Lighieri (POL), work present, alongside 13 others, in the selection of the Académie Goncourt. The expression is taken from a letter sent to Prime Minister Michel Barnier, with several ministers copied, including those of Culture and National Education.
The association believes that the work has no place in the hands of high school students, due to “ pornographic nature of sex scenes “, but also of a story ” against the background of adolescent depression, regular use of drugs and alcohol, self-destruction ».
A problematic book?
Published on August 22 on the occasion of the start of the literary year, within the publishing house POL (Madrigall group), The Lost Children’s Clubis signed by Rebecca Lighieri, pseudonym of the author Emmanuelle Bayamack-Tam, winner of the Inter Book Prize and the Médicis Prize for other works published subsequently.
Rather applauded by the press, literary or not,The Lost Children’s Clubexplores the complex relationship between 27-year-old Miranda and her parents, a famous acting couple, Armand and Birke. Family relationships are dysfunctional, with parents and children constantly drifting apart and falling into mutual incomprehension.
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Shared between the points of view of Armand and Miranda, the story evokes the questions of one or the other, the anxieties and the disappointments. He also confronts the sexuality of the characters, in a way that is far too crude, according to the SOS Education association, which mentions “a succession of detailed sexual acts, scatological and sadomasochistic practices”, as well as “a permanent and trivialized incestual environment ».
The organization attached to its letter, readable at this address, a selection of selected extracts from the work, to support its remarks. “For a high school student, and even if he is a consumer of pornography (he knows that it is a transgression), such a book placed in his hands by National Education consists of a form of moral guarantee which he will understand as an initiation dull and unhealthy“, she insists in her address to the Prime Minister.
We tried to contact the publisher POL to discuss this work and its presence in the selection of the Prix Goncourt des lycéens, without success.
Control readings
The SOS Education association, created in 2001, was first interested in methods of learning to read, campaigning for the syllabic approach during the 2000s. It quickly turned to the content of the programs, particularly in matters of sex education and the fight against sexual or gender discrimination.
In 2007, she stood up against the exhibition “Sexual penis», which featured Titeuf at the Cité des Sciences and attempted to participate in the sexual education of young people. Note that it was the subject, in 2020, of a report from the Court of Auditors on its finances, which concluded “that the association’s expenses over the financial years 2013 to 2018 were not in line with the objectives pursued by the public appeal for generosity ».
The structure is very close to conservative circles, but also to the far right: on November 4, 2023, Sophie Audugé, general delegate and spokesperson for SOS Education, participated in the conference of “Vigilant Parents”, a collective of parents of students from Éric Zemmour’s Reconquest party. The concerns of SOS Education often agree with those of the extreme right: moreover, theSunday Newspapera far-right weekly, widely relayed the SOS Education missive…
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In the latter, the association ensures that “National Education must set up a commission to verify the selection before the books are studied in class“. She highlights, in her letter, the case of Robin (the first name has been replaced), aged 14, who “presented post-traumatic disorders after the shock caused by the pages he read ».
The structure’s concerns are reminiscent of those of the director of the La Mennais high school, in Ploërmel (Brittany), who, last year, had thesad tigerfrom Neige Sinno, from the CDI of the establishment for “protect young people» of passages «of great violence ».
The imprescriptible right not to read
Created in 1988, the Prix Goncourt des Lycéens is awarded each year by the high school students themselves: 2000 of them participate, i.e. around fifty classes: the establishments apply, and those who are selected receive the books. Then, the high school students have two months to read the novels, with the help of teachers. During this intense reading period, seven regional meetings are organized between authors and high school students.
Remember that the books studied are those from the Goncourt Academy selection, and are therefore in competition for the Goncourt Prize and the Goncourt Prize for high school students.
For this reason, the selection of books remains closely linked to that of the Académie Goncourt. “The themes addressed in contemporary novels, and therefore in the novels competing for the Goncourt Prize, are numerous and varied because they reflect the world and society.», Underlines the Ministry of National Education, interviewed by us.
« Before reading the works, preparation and discussion work is carried out by the teachers with the students, as well as throughout the reading and discussions for the choice of the price», Recalls the ministry, which insists on mediation carried out by the teaching staff. As such, the “organization of the Goncourt prize for high school students communicates with the teachers concerned to carry out this mediation throughout the school year », nous assure-t-on.
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A shocking text can therefore be discussed in class, providing an opportunity to address complex and difficult subjects with students. But “all readers have the inalienable right not to read a book», Recalls the Ministry of National Education. “No reading is required and if students express their own desire not to read a work, they have the right to do so.»
« The Ministry of National Education is fully attentive and aware of the concerns that may be expressed with regard to certain novels, but ensures that, each year, the support of students by educational teams aims to install for them the best possible conditions for participation in the Goncourt prize for high school students », termine l’administration.
Photography: Goncourt Prize for High School Students 2024
