"Behind an unlikely bestseller, a fierce political conscience"
>Stéphane Hessel’s wildly popular new book “Indignez-vous !” is a rallying cry for French masses to combat social, political, and economic injustices. France24.com takes a look at the man behind this unlikely bestseller.
>There’s a new book topping the bestseller list in France, and it’s not a Swedish thriller, a vampire novel, the tale of a teenage wizard, or even the latest from much-hyped French Goncourt prize winner Michel Houellebecq.
>Rather, the current toast of the literary world is Stéphane Hessel, a 93-year-old former resistance member and diplomat, whose 13-page political essay called “Indignez-vous !” (or “Get indignant!”) has sold a whopping 600,000 copies since it hit shelves last October.
>The book, which was released by Indigène -- a tiny publishing house based in the south of France -- and is on sale for an uncommonly cheap 3 euros, is a call for the French population to get angry about the injustices of modern society. Amid widespread disillusionment with the policies of centre-right French President Nicolas Sarkozy, the text could become a rallying cry for the French left as it braces itself to challenge the incumbent in the 2012 presidential election. Hessel, for his part, is a vocal supporter of Socialist Party head Martine Aubry.
OK Question for those who know France: Is she Mitterand with tits, or something a bit better than that?
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>Hessel was born in Berlin in 1917 to a Jewish family that converted partly to Protestantism. His parents, painter Helen and writer Franz, were said to be inspirations for two of the three lead characters in “Jules et Jim”, an autobiographical novel about a love triangle written by their friend Henri-Pierre Roché. The book was famously adapted to the screen by New Wave filmmaker François Truffau
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>Hessel, who in 2006 was named Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour, has also been a vocal supporter of a boycott of Israeli products in protest against Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories. In his interview with FRANCE 24, Hessel said that criticisms of Israel were muted, because “everyone is afraid of being called an anti-Semite. This reticence must be conquered”. Israeli treatment of Palestinians is indeed a major theme of his essay, in which he notes: “Jews themselves perpetrating war crimes is intolerable. Alas, the past offers few examples of people learning lessons from their own history”.
This is interesting even without knowledge of the context. But I suspect someone who knows France and wishes to comment might add a bit of depth to this story.
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