Bruno Le Maire, Minister of the Economy, himself, tweeted: “
This is where we are in the France of the Enlightenment, of reason and of the free spirit: a petition against a writer of great talent, the sectarian exclusion of an adventurous pen.
Full support for Sylvain Tesson, poet of our world
.”
Thursday, a column in
Libération
signed by “
more than 1,200 poets, editors, booksellers, actresses and actors of the French cultural scene
”, most of them unknown, regretted the appointment of Sylvain Tesson as godfather of the Spring of Poets (9 -March 25).
According to them, the writer, a regular in the columns of Le
Figaro
, represents a “
reactionary icon
” and a “
leading figure of the literary extreme right
”.
They also justify this assertion by the signing by Sylvain Tesson of a preface "
to a reference work of the extreme right,
Le Camp des saints
, by Jean Raspail
", a novel described as a "
racist dystopia on immigration
".
The author meditated on the consequences of the arrival of a million illegal immigrants by boatloads in the south of France.
Also read: Petition against Sylvain Tesson: the prince of poets in the land of the mediocre
Sylvain Tesson, however, received the support of Éric Ciotti.
The author is “
unjustly attacked by right-thinking
”, underlines the president of the Republicans who adds that “
this forum is ridiculous and reflects the long drift of the Left towards wokism!
".
Xavier Bertrand also assured Sylvain Tesson of “all his support”.
The latter “admirably embodies the love of the French language, in the face of sectarianism and a scandalous cabal,” he added.