I
t was to be expected: Books and bookstores have become a prime battleground in France's ongoing culture wars. The past several months have seen the publication of an avalanche of right-leaning and especially far-right-leaning political books, woven together like scripts of disaster movies. Trading on themes of identity and sovereignty, such books are paving the way for upcoming battles: the municipal elections in March and the presidential election in 2027. Some commentators have tried to play down the phenomenon, which amounts to burying their heads in the sand, given that nearly a dozen of these books have posted remarkable sales figures since last autumn. According to data from the Edistat institute, the numbers are still rising. It is no exaggeration to speak of a remarkable phenomon, especially at a time when selling 10,000 copies is considered a miracle.
Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy's memoir Le Journal d'un Prisonnier ("Diary of a Prisoner") is approaching sales of 200,000 copies. Far-right Rassemblement National (RN) leader Jordan Bardella has released two books in two years, with a combined total of 320,000 copies sold. Hard-right politician and businessperson Philippe de Villiers, known for his prolific output, has published around 15 essays in 13 years on a France in decline, with the two most recent together selling over 400,000 copies. The latest work of far-right politician and commentator Eric Zemmour has reached 70,000 copies – not his personal best, but still a number many would envy.
