And Tibet?
Bruno Lonchampt, Dole (Jura)
France, considered a free democracy, land of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, therefore received the Chinese president. What place has been left to the colonized Tibetan and Uyghur peoples, whose civilizations are experiencing a slow and long agony? France is celebrating sixty years of diplomatic relations with China. What do people think about economic, industrial and commercial issues? (Faced with Xi Jinping, is Macron repeating the same mistake as with Putin?on lexpress.fr).
Books: the harms of Parisianism
Jacques Brachat, Saintry-sur-Seine (Essonne)
The boss of Amazon explains it to us: more than 90% of the 35,000 French municipalities do not have a bookstore when Paris concentrates 20% of this business, with 3% of the population. However, digital technology remains kept away from public cultural policies (when it is not overtaxed). While sending a 500 gram book to London costs 1.67 euros, you have to pay 6.30 euros with us. Meanwhile, commentators on literary pages are shedding crocodile tears over the lack of appeal of reading among young people… The grotesque, obsolete, anti-economic and ultimately anti-cultural nature of the organization of reading in France provides the best example of the crass ignorance of a certain Parisian “microcosm”, convinced that Paris is France. (Books: the true cost of mandatory shipping costs, by Frédéric Duval (Amazon)L’Express of April 25).
Glucksmann: a symbolic expulsion
Adriana Quijoux, Triel-sur-Seine (Yvelines)
Raphaël Glucksmann, moderate republican, humanist democrat and convinced European, was therefore booed and chased away with insults and paint during a demonstration on May 1 in Saint-Etienne by left-wing extremists, LFI in the lead… Yesterday, in the parades, the fascist, the rioter, the maker of chaos were repressed; today, we scare away the essayist, the philosopher, the free-thinker. What is going on ? This “incident” is not, in my opinion, a simple excess, but a serious act, a real obstacle to freedom of expression, an act similar to those that we can see in the worst dictatorships. (May 1: Raphaël Glucksmann prevented from joining the procession in Saint-Etienne after paint was thrownon lexpress.fr).
Matisse: let’s not reverse the roles!
Sarah Olivier, Bordeaux (Gironde)
When a woman is the victim of rape, the most odious misogynists suggest that she had provoked her attacker. This filthy practice is still at work following the assassination of the young Matisse. The recurrent talk of so-called “recovery” denotes a cynicism and a lack of empathy that sends shivers down the spine. It is also a startling role reversal. It is also a human and moral collapse, a dehumanization of the ruling class and an inhumanity elevated to politics. (Murder of Matisse: 8,000 people at the white march in Châteaurouxon lexpress.fr).
Foucault, precursor of wokism
Denis Malgrange, Limay (Yvelines)
You seem to be surprised that Michel Foucault remains more popular in American universities than in France. It is your astonishment that astonishes me… Indeed, through his uncompromising defense of all minorities, all victims of the same capitalist-imperialist-white-Western-male oppressor, Foucault was a precursor of woke ideology. Through his fascination with the Iranian revolution – because the enemy of my enemy cannot be entirely bad – he was also the founding father of Islamo-leftism. No wonder then that North American campuses, where these ideologies grow and flourish, pay homage to him? (Would the Americans have understood Foucault’s thought better than the French?L’Express of April 25).
Two prestigious awards for L’Express
L’Express sees its editorial excellence rewarded with two prestigious prizes, awarded by the jury of the Grand Prix Strategies for Media Innovation 2024. Our exceptional 70th anniversary conference entitled “It was good yesterday, it will be better tomorrow” won the Bronze Award for Best Event. As for our special issue 1953-2023: our 70th anniversary issue, he won Silver in the Best Special Edition category. These distinctions testify to the quality of the work of the editorial staff, which has mobilized to produce exclusive content on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the weekly, while remaining faithful to the values and commitments of its founders, particularly through coverage of the war in Ukraine.