How the far-left French radicals of the 1960s destroyed their nation and infiltrated American politics and schools
“This is the book that broke the spell of French progressivism,” says Nathan Pinkoski in his foreword to Éric Zemmour’s “The Suicide of France” (Encounter Books).Could it also be the book that helps break the spell of American progressivism?In May of 1968, France’s far-left sparked a massive social uprising similar to America’s ’68 Summer of Love but even more explosive.
Thousands of students, furious with France’s conservative norms, threw up barricades, clashed with police, sparked a massive workers strike and tried to create a total revolution.These radical nihilists worked to bring down France’s decent and free Fifth Republic, lauded faraway Maoist-Communist tyranny, and dismissed the Judeo-Christian traditions of the West.Sound familiar?Just as America’s leftists have mythologized the 1960s counterculture movement, France’s progressives have mythologized the chaos and destruction of May 1968.
The nihilistic radicals’ goal was to overthrow the government.They failed in this at the time, but in the six decades since they have largely achieved their aims.Zemmour, a journalist and occasional presidential candidate, tells the fascinating and disturbing story of how this liberationist ideology took over French politics — and how France’s moderates and conservatives were swept up in its elite prestige.
This erudite writer has indeed exploded the mythology behind “the quiet revolution that destroyed a nation.” He does so in vigorous and inviting prose.Zemmour’s book was first published in France in 2014.It was a massive success, selling hundreds of thousands of copies.
His calls for a return to tradition were decried and twisted by critics who maligned him an extremist and a “demagogue.” But its influence remains strong, and it has now been ably translated into English by Pinkoski — not a moment too soon, as it contains vital warnings for America.The French mutiny began on college campuses.Postmodern French theory and its...