It is almost dark on the Quai du Louvre and the wind rushes into the Rue de l'Amiral de Coligny.
In front of Saint-Germain l'Auxerrois, the JC Lattès publishing team tries to keep sheets of 10 meters by 6 meters on the ground on which are printed the 200 pages of the book
Rien de personnel
, the biography of Mahir Guven's family ( winner of the 2018 Goncourt Prize for
Big Brother
).
Tuesday January 23, around ten people gathered to support the initiative of the Franco-Turkish writer Paris.
In socks, standing on the leaves to prevent the gusts from blowing away his work, he displays a slightly disappointed expression: he had nevertheless obtained authorization from the prefecture to display this ephemeral installation, entitled
“Just read”
, on Place Colette, just in front of the Constitutional Council.
A last minute counter-order disrupted his plans.
Despite this change of address, Mahir persists and carries out this original project to the end: offering all passers-by the reading of an example of successful immigration in France at a time when the Sages are preparing to deliver their verdict. regarding the so-called “immigration law”.
In his latest book, the author born to a Kurdish father and a Turkish mother tells how his family became French, from his arrival in 1984 to today.
The work was published in January, a month after the heated debates which divided the Assembly on the law concerning the new immigration conditions in France.
“We know very little about the lives of immigrants”
“It’s a coincidence of timing,”
laughs Mahir Guven.
But I see a wink in it.
I wrote this text to break down prejudices about immigrants, to show the story of an ordinary family with its tears, its joys, its failures, its victories..."
But today this text has a new vocation:
“Ask a simple question: is it wise to decide on the fate of thousands of women and men without knowing their history, their lives?
Because it seems to me that we know very little about the life of immigrants
,” says Mahir.
“It’s the story of my family, but it could be that of thousands of families: we often highlight immigrants who are in difficulty or who pose problems, but I don’t think that’s the majority,”
he says before continuing:
“There are two hands in France, a hand that slaps, a hand that cajoles.
The hand that cajoles is much more present.
But to soothe a blow you need a hundred caresses.
The shots score.
And yes, this law is a blow, I took it badly.”
The book
Nothing Personal
by Mahir Guven in the format of 10 meters by 6 meters, at the Palais de la Porte Dorée - Immigration Museum.
Mahir Guven's Instagram account
“Successful” immigration
The writer is, however, one of these
“models of integration”
:
“I have no criminal record, I don’t insult anyone, I take my daughter to daycare, I pay my taxes, I write books ...But I don't need to repeat that I love France!
I am not a dangerous radical, I have a humanist commitment,” he insists.
And the writer gives figures:
“Immigrants over three generations are 15 million people.
The unemployment rate for immigrants is 11%, so 89% work and pay their taxes.
We talk about it through a particular prism, and yet we also need to understand this reality!”
“My father said, ‘I was born French but in the wrong country,’”
he remembers.
“My mother is a refugee, she didn't want to come here, she was forced by destiny and she learned to love France because she was welcomed.
Today it is a country that she defends, all the time, constantly.
She is proud that we are here, she loves this country.
With this form of literary and singular protest, Mahir wishes to send a message:
“We can accept people in France: all good-hearted people get to work, and we will show how we achieve integration.
I am proof of that.
And I would like it to no longer be a shame to be of immigrant origin.”
“Art must always titillate”
Mahir Guven would like to encourage
“the Wise Men, our deputies who made an unfortunate gesture, our senators, readers and the general public”
to reflect,
“because we are a country of books, and by reading we know people better.”
“Reading is an act of meditation, reading allows you to think, to be touched
,” underlines the man who received compliments and encouragement from Annie Ernaux and Lidye Salvaire following the publication of
Rien de personnel
.
As a writer, he believes that
“art must always titillate.
The function of a scientist is to observe, analyze and give conclusions.
The function of a politician is to observe, analyze and provide answers.
The function of a writer is to observe, analyze and ask questions.”
Mahir Guven ends up directly challenging the members of the Constitutional Council:
“Read
Nothing Personal
, come to the Immigration Museum, because you know little about the life of immigrants.
Come read the consequences that successful immigration can have.”
The installation
“Just Read”
is on display at the Palais de la Porte Dorée – Immigration Museum until Sunday January 28.