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de Saint-Victor, Jacques
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2 articles of this author have been cited in the European Press Review so far.
Daniel Rondeau on the role of the politically engaged intellectual
In an interview conducted by Jacques de Saint-Victor, the French writer Daniel Rondeau questions the legitimacy of today's politically engaged intellectuals. "To me, the figure of the politically engaged intellectual unfortunately seems rather an anachronism, for it has been perverted by a double lie: Firstly the lie of yesterday as denounced by Camus: the fables of Stalinism have vaccinated minds around the world against a certain kind of politically engaged intellectual. Secondly there is today's lie: strategies of the media carnival have integrated the wars previously led in the name of utopias or the voiceless. Today, rituals of compassion, in the name of human rights, have an essential place in climbing the echelons of a career, with a low-level of efficiency on the terrain. Curiously, this figure of the politically engaged intellectual has been saved, as far as I can see, by those who fought on the frontline of the struggle against mendacity in the countries that are part of 'the other Europe': Soljenitsyne, Michnik, Geremek and Vaclav Havel."
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Uneasiness in the historical community
"More than two months after the controversy broke out over the 'positive' effects of colonisation, and the official discomfort over the bicentennary of Austerlitz, about twenty of the most prominent French historians have decided to break their silence," writes Jacques de Saint-Victor, referring to a petition entitled, 'Freedom for history!'. "This stance-taking attests to the deep sense of unease that has been incubating in the historical community for several years now. Driven by the best intentions in the world, the French lawmaker has in effect acquired a taste for legislating in the historical domain." In the journalist's view, "memory is becoming increasingly something that involves setting forth demands, lodging legal complaints. Indeed, something full of hatred. Nothing is more unhealthy than this, for if no one is responsible for his ancestors, they are, on the other hand, accountable for the degree of hatred that they pass down to future generations."
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