We had an appointment this Thursday morning to talk with him about his new book. A novel with a face that cries of laughter as a title, which denounces the dictatorship of the sneer in the media. But it is impossible for Frédéric Beigbeder to speak of anything other than the "Consent" of Vanessa Springora, which he has just finished reading.
This 47-year-old editor recounts the long relationship she had under the influence of the writer Gabriel Matzneff, when she was only 13 years old. And him 50. She also denounces the “blindness” of the literary world, Matzneff having told of his attraction for pre-adolescents in several books. Successful author, literary critic and member of the jury for the Renaudot Prize, which crowned Gabriel Matzneff in 2013, Frédéric Beigbeder explains.
What is your feeling when reading the "Consent"?
FRÉDÉRIC BEIGBEDER. This book is sober, sincere, sharp and very impressive. Vanessa Springora is still devastated to have fallen in love with this man 30 years ago. It is a real shock as were the readings of "Il m'aimait" by Christophe Tison in 2004, who, as a little boy, was seduced by a friend of his parents. And, more recently, of "Innocence" where Eva Ionesco tells how her mother photographed her in pornographic positions when she was a child. These three books - all published by Grasset - describe the same trauma suffered by a child who, out of love, performs adult gestures, with an adult.
Do you support Vanessa Springora?
I am unambiguous in the Vanessa Springora camp. Not because we have the same editor (Editor's note: Olivier Nora), but because I am upset by its history. She regrets that her parents did not prevent this relationship. That the police were not interested in it. But it is more nuanced than its defenders. She also says that Matzneff was allegedly raped as a child by someone close to his family. Victim then guilty of pedophilia, a scheme, alas, common. She also suspects him of having tried to be arrested. She hypothesizes that Matzneff could have sent anonymous letters to the prefecture himself to denounce himself. But his books should have alerted the juvenile brigade on their own.
Last weekend, in Le Monde, you said that Gabriel Mazneff was "indefensible", but that he remained "your friend".
Because I am afraid that he will commit suicide and that I do not want to go after a man already nailed in the pillory. Like most people so far, I spoke before I read “The Consent”. We didn't know how Vanessa Springora felt, because we only had Matzneff's version. And then I must add that I am frightened by the list of plague victims: Yann Moix in September, Peter Handke in November, Roman Polanski in December, Matzneff in January… This surge of hatred shocks me. As if we were to execute one person a month. It is reminiscent of the “week of hatred” in George Orwell's “1984”.
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Why did the literary world do nothing and continue to treat Matzneff as a notable?
Obviously, we feel snotty. The literary critics are neither the police nor the magistrates. Books are not judged on moral criteria, but on their writing quality. Contrary to what you say, Matzneff is not a notable of letters. No one goes there anymore. He is not interviewed anywhere. His books have not been sold for a long time. Let there be no mistake: this sequence in “Apostrophe” which goes on loop today was devastating. He is seen as a plague victim since this broadcast. He is an "old man in misery", as Vanessa Springora says. And it is this 77-year-old "old man in misery" whom Renaudot praised in 2013.
Do you regret having contributed to this award?
It's too easy to rewrite history today. We must assume our choice. This book seemed brilliant to us. It was a collection of articles on international politics, on Schopenhauer, Gaddafi, etc. He is a writer who has a beautiful, classic, clear style. It is clear that he would never have had the price for one of his diaries. We also wanted to show compassion. It was by no means the consecration of a pedophile monster. The price was awkward. But honestly I find it stranger still that he received the insignia of an officer of the Arts and Letters at the time when his books were much more sulphurous.
Do you blame others?
Not at all. Pedophiles must be put in prison. The law must be applied. But it's not my job. All of us in the literary world are guilty of failing to assist people in danger. Our fault: not to have taken Gabriel Matzneff seriously. I am ashamed to have long believed that he was a mythomaniac, that he boasted of facts that he had not committed. I saw him sometimes with students from the Sorbonne. But they were young women, 22 or 23 years old, not junior high school girls.
Should we ban books that praise pedophilia?
Ceasing to publish them may be a good thing, but we will have to censor part of the history of literature… Many writings by Gide, Montherlant, Sade or Casanova… There is a bizarre tradition of French literature which glorifies this type of exploits. As if we tolerated these behaviors because they are told in style. In his posthumous journal which has just been published, Julien Green recounts how he flirted with young boys in Rome. What made Matzneff's situation possible was this literary tradition. His tension between his Christian faith and sensual sin made him literally interesting. In the preface to the "Portrait of Dorian Gray", Oscar Wilde writes: "There are no moral or immoral books. The books are well written or poorly written. That's all. This is what Bernard Pivot meant in his controversial tweet.
Does the quality of the writing excuse everything?
It's a great question. Should artists be virtuous? Do the writers have to be exemplary people? Should we stop reading novels that tell of crimes? Why are writers so fascinated by the ban? Vanessa Springora opened these beneficial debates for society.