DO WINNERS of France’s most prestigious literary prize have a duty to tone down their criticisms of the government and be “mindful of national unity and the image of the country?”
By suggesting as much, a leading member of President Nicolas Sarkozy’s party has ignited a passionate row over race, censorship and artists’ freedom of expression.
When the French-Senegalese novelist Marie NDiaye this month became the first black woman to win the Prix Goncourt, her achievement was roundly applauded and her winning title, Trois Femmes Puissantes (Three Powerful Women)quickly climbed the bestseller lists.
What stirred the ire of Éric Raoult, a prominent member of Mr Sarkozy’s UMP party, however, were remarks made by the writer in an interview with a cultural magazine last summer, which were prominently reported after her Goncourt win.
In August, Ndiaye told Les Inrockuptiblesof her heritage, her upbringing in a Parisian suburb and the discrimination faced by black people in France.
She described Mr Sarkozy’s France, his immigration minister Éric Besson and interior minister Brice Hortefeux as being “monstrous” and said she had moved to Berlin “in large part” because of Mr Sarkozy’s election as president.
“I detest that repressive atmosphere, that coarseness,” she said.
After reading the comments, Mr Raoult, who is mayor of a Paris suburb, last week tabled a parliamentary question for culture minister Frédéric Mitterrand, asking whether “the duty of a person who defends the literary colours of France should not be to show a certain respect towards its institutions” and to be “mindful of national unity and the image of the country?”
A Goncourt laureate, he said, should observe " un devoir de réserve", a term commonly used to describe the duty of discretion required of civil servants.
The politician’s remarks – repeated in subsequent media interviews – drew a storm of disapproval.
Socialist Party leader Martine Aubry called Mr Raoult’s remarks “unacceptable and worrying”, while centrist François Bayrou said writers had a “duty of freedom” rather than of restraint.
Patrick Rambaud, winner of the Goncourt in 1997, suggested Mr Raoult was confusing the literary prize with "Miss France, wrapped in her tricolour sash", while Le Mondepublished a letter in support of NDiaye from a group of prominent writers.
After initially appearing to pull back from the tone of her criticisms, the Goncourt winner has since said she stood over her August interview.
“I don’t see what’s changed since for me to go back on my words,” she told France Inter radio, accusing the government of “rooting out children without [identity] papers from their schools”.
Mr Mitterrand, the culture minister, found the controversy “ridiculous” and said he did not wish to “arbitrate”.
Mr Raoult has since conceded that the term “duty of restraint” was inappropriate, but said French writers abroad should exercise a “principle of moderation”.