The national tribute for the novelist Maryse Condé, who died at the age of 90, took place at the BNF in the presence of the President of the Republic.
The national tribute to the Guadeloupean novelist took place this Monday, April 15 at the National Library of France. After a moving funeral celebrated Friday April 12 in the church of Saint-Germain-des-Prés where the family of Maryse Condé but also personalities and anonymous people gathered, the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron arranged to meet to these loved ones and to all French people in France and Overseas to pay a last tribute to the writer.
The tribute began shortly after 4 p.m., four passages from the writings of Maryse Condé were read. First, an excerpt from his novel The Heart to Laugh and Weep, then a passage from his autobiographical novel La vie sans Fards. The third text came from The Abominable Institution, and the last text was taken from the column “Colonization was guilty of quite a few crimes”, a text written by the novelist, in response to the declaration of Emmanuel Macron who had declared that colonization was a crime against humanity.
The tribute to Maryse Condé in video
Following these readings, the President of the Republic spoke. In his speech, he highlighted the writer’s “taste for paradox and freedom”. He then returned to his battles, his arrival in France, his life as a novelist and his elevation to the dignity of Grand Cross of the Order of Merit in 2020. The Head of State closed his tribute by greeting the wife of letters. The tribute ended with the Marseillaise and the president then greeted the family and friends of Maryse Condé, present at the event.