Prize

The two writers who won the prestigious Goncourt Prize, Amin Maalouf and Jean-Christophe Ruffin, are competing to lead the French Academy, the institution that has been keen on the grammar of the French language since its founding in the seventeenth century.

Voting is scheduled to take place Thursday afternoon on the name who will succeed Helen Carrier Dancos, who died in August, adopting simple procedures, as only the votes received by either of these two writers will be counted.

Announcement

“When nominations closed on Monday evening, there were only two names,” a member of the academy’s administrative committee told AFP on Tuesday.

Amin Maalouf (74 years old) is a French writer of Lebanese origin. He won the Goncourt Prize in 1993 for his novel “Le Rocher de Tanios” (“The Rock of Tanios”), and he was an announced candidate some time ago. He is one of the faces of historical novels inspired by the East, and in his works he focused on the issue of the rapprochement of civilizations, while he is considered the most likely candidate to lead the academy.

Maalouf’s personality is unanimously agreed upon, as he is very involved in the activities of the institution that he joined in 2011, and he has an advantage in several matters, most notably the fact that his position as permanent secretary of the academy would have been appreciated by Elaine Carrier Dankos.

Maalouf will have to confront his friend Jean-Christophe Ruffin (71 years old), a doctor and former diplomat who won the Goncourt Prize in 2001 for his novel “Rouge Bresil.” Rovan joined the academy in 2008.

This unanimously accepted writer had the least hesitation before running for this position. “I tried to back down at first, but I came to the conclusion that our great cause deserves some sacrifices,” he wrote in his nomination letter, which was published by the daily newspaper Le Monde.

He explained that he felt frustrated because he was the only candidate. M magazine, affiliated with the French daily Le Monde, quoted him as saying on Saturday: “It is as if we are in North Korea.”

M pointed out that another member of the academy, Marc Lambron, led a campaign against Rovan in recent months, accusing him of lacking independence.

Ensuring financial sustainability

Jean-Christophe Rouvin, who is active in several fields, submitted a report in May to the Total Energy oil group regarding the situation in Mozambique. Since 2020, he has headed the Sanofi Espoir Foundation, affiliated with the Sanofi Pharmaceutical Group.

The Permanent Secretary of the French Academy is the member who directs this institution that defends and develops the French language. Only 32 people have held this position since 1634.

In July, Academy members finished looking at the words of the ninth edition of the French Academy’s Dictionary, which contains nearly twice as many words as the eighth edition.

Announcement

Carrier Dancos, who joined the institution in 1990 and was elected as its president in 1999, will remain “permanent secretary,” while the academy witnessed the digital Internet revolution during her reign.

Although the Academy’s dictionary is opposed by many linguists who criticize it for its strict nature, it is considered a valuable tool for following the development of the French language. Its various versions are available for free online.

One of the tasks of the next permanent secretary will be to ensure the financial sustainability of the academy, which a report issued in 2021 by the Court of Auditors and the Institut de France, indicates that it is not guaranteed.

Among other duties of the Permanent Secretary, he seeks to attract high-value candidates. Eileen Carrier Dankos has not always been successful in her attempts to encourage or endorse the nominations of popular younger writers. Michel Houellebecq did not respond to her indirect invitations, while writers such as Frédéric Bigbedé and Benoit Dutourtre were excluded.

The academy includes 40 seats, 28 of which are held by men and seven by women, while there are five vacant seats awaiting elections.

Additional sources • AFP

2023-09-26 15:03:27
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