The future of our civilizations
Alphonse Cruchten, Luxemburg
I can only congratulate you for devoting your February 16 issue to Ukraine. Beyond political divisions, shouldn’t we find a consensus to honor the courage of the Ukrainian people and their army? Do the young people of today know that this atrocious war, if it is lost by the free world, will sound the death knell of our civilizations? (“Anne Applebaum: “If Russia had won”“, L’Express of February 16).
Munich again
Jean-Michel Bénard, Châtillon (Hauts-de-Seine)
I choke when I hear that we have to drop Ukraine. For populism, anything is good to take. Historically, it’s Munich bis repeated. (“Don’t let Ukraine down“, L’Express of February 16).
No Russia at the Paris Olympics!
Zbigniew Buczko, Semeries (North)
I completely agree with Eric Chol and Anne Hidalgo that Russia has no place in the 2024 Olympics. We owe respect to the athletes and the people of Ukraine. The Olympics should not be a showcase for totalitarian and criminal regimes. (“No, Russia has no place at the 2024 Olympics“, L’Express of February 16).
Transclass: Bronner rather than Ernaux
Louis Causero, Essey-lès-Nancy (Meurthe-et-Moselle)
I have just read, belatedly, Gérald Bronner’s article on transclasses and particularly appreciated it – whereas I don’t like Annie Ernaux’s interventions. Like him, I contest the exclusive link established between academic success and social origin, especially when it is superimposed on immigration. I am an immigrant of Italian origin who arrived in France in 1950. My parents told us: “We are foreigners, and we must be in all respects as good as the French who are at home.” They added: “Academic success depends on your personal work. You must always work more than others.” Personally, I couldn’t get into sixth grade because, as a foreigner, I couldn’t benefit from a scholarship. However, I registered as a free auditor for the baccalaureate, which I obtained with honors. Today, among my grandchildren, I count three engineers, a physiotherapist while the last is in preparatory class. If my parents came back, they would probably be surprised, but happy! (“Gérald Bronner, a transclass against Annie Ernaux“, L’Express of January 26).
Trade deficit and balance of payments
Claude Joubert, Penvins (Morbihan)
You rightly underline the deterioration of the French trade balance and worry about its repercussions on future government bond rates. The real indicator of a country’s external position is however the balance of payments including, in addition to the trade balance, the external balance of services which, for its part, is in surplus in France. In total, our country is certainly in deficit, but in much smaller proportions. This does not mean that we should not worry about our trade deficit, but without ignoring the strengths at our disposal. (“The abyss of the trade balance and the threat of sanction“, L’Express of February 9).
Race struggle or class struggle
Jerome Onyx, Bordeaux (Gironde)
In the last century, the role played by German universities in the propagation of Nazi theses was decisive. Today, it is the new theories of “race” that infest North American and European universities, carried by the Democratic Party of Joe Biden and its European equivalents. Historically, the marker of the left stricto sensu is the social struggle or the class struggle. On the other hand, that of the extreme right is “the struggle of races”. How the so-called camp of good may actually be… the real camp of evil (“Wokism: What the French Panic Reveals, by Thomas Chatterton Williams”on Lexpress.fr).
Our award-winning correspondent in Burkina Faso
Sophie Douce, correspondent for L’Express in Burkina Faso, has just received the Radio Reporters d’Espoirs 2022 Prize for her podcast “Le 777, la bonne étoile des bergers burkinabés”. This report tells how a telephone platform helps local herders adapt to desertification and insecurity which limits their movements and puts their way of life in danger. “I am happy that this prize highlights the condition of Sahelian pastoralists, the first victims of insecurity, conflict and drought”, explains Sophie Douce. Distributed by Magnifying glass, the daily podcast of L’Express, this subject had also been the subject of an article in our magazine. It was made possible by a grant from the European Center for Journalism, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.