The president of the agglomeration community of Porte du Hainaut (North) was moved on Monday by the auction from Tuesday of the manuscript of the play
Germinal
by Émile Zola, believing that it should become "
a public good
”and“
stay in France
”. "
The universality of this history, of the social struggles and of the human condition which are expressed there, must remain public
", affirmed in a press release Aymeric Robin, the president of the community of agglomeration, which includes in particular Denain and Saint -Amand-les-Eaux. "
It indeed belongs to the thousands of families of the mining basin of the Nord and Pas-de-Calais, but well beyond in the world
", added this elected Communist.
See also
Germinal
: drama at auction for the play from Zola's novel
This story “
therefore cannot become the property of one person. It should not be the subject of pure financial speculation but be returned to the Nation to be exhibited in a museum and be available to the greatest number of people,
”he said. This work, “
its cinematographic, theatrical and television adaptations
”, are “
the pride of children and grandchildren of minors
” and of “an
entire territory
”. The Ministry of Culture “
must mobilize to acquire it and preserve it within our national cultural heritage
,” added Aymeric Robin, indicating that he “
called on the government to do so
”.
Sotheby's Paris opens the online sale of the manuscript of
Germinal's
play on
Tuesday and until December 8 for these 454 leaves signed by the hand of the famous naturalist novelist, between 1885 and 1887. According to Sotheby's, it is the “
Last major manuscript of Émile Zola still in private hands
”. Most of the writer's manuscripts, including that of the novel, which can be consulted online, in fact belong to the National Library of France (BNF) and the rest to other institutions. This
Germinal
is estimated between 100,000 and 150,000 euros. The name of the seller is not revealed: Sotheby's speaks of a “
European
”
collector
who “
wishes to remain anonymous
” and does not say “
no more on the manuscript route
”.
The Ministry of Culture was not immediately reachable to react to this inquiry.
