In “Our old kingdom”, Jean-Pierre Jouyet places French politics in a historical perspective.
From the “council from above” under Louis XIV which acts the centralization of power, to the historical amateurism of our leaders -Napoleon III in Sedan, Pompidou who cannot adapt to the speeches of Chaban-Delmas- , going through the relationship of the French to a tutelary figure (Napoleon, de Gaulle, Mitterrand), Jean-Pierre Jouyet demonstrates, in “Our old kingdom”, that the History of France has durably influenced – even ossified – current politics , all eras combined. Chapterd by themes -magic money, verticality of power, culture, centralization, colonization and others-, this book shows how much our cultural, political and economic heritage has shaped our democracy. Soil law? A reform of the Old Regime. Blood law? In place under the First Empire.
The author also shows how much the French need a strong symbol at the head of the nation, going so far as to write that a large part of the population – yesterday as today – is angry with guillotined his king. Between all these erudite, brilliant, amusing pages, we are also touched by certain character traits of the French. For example, on our relationship to the illness and health problems of our monarch/president: Paul Deschanel, who was crazy and threw himself off a train, so much so that he was replaced after seven months of presidency, François Mitterrand and his cancer, Chirac and his strokes, in short, all these events that the population pretended to see in order to preserve the fantasized image of its leader(s). And it’s touching.
To read :Jouyet tells his four truths to Macron
Jouyet’s style? The vulgarization – sometimes too forced – of a history teacher that we would have liked to have had in college, mixed with straight-forward expressions. On colonization for example: “The French were understanding colonists and cumbersome decolonizers.”
“Our old kingdom”, Jean-Pierre Jouyet (Albin Michel)
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