Gabriel Matzneff’s new publisher gives up publishing it after “death threats”

The publishing house which had decided to publish a new book by Gabriel Matzneff, targeted by an investigation for rape of a minor, announced Monday that it was giving up temporarily because of “death threats” against his staff. Editions de la Nouvelle Librairie had planned to publish on November 8 Last writings before the massacrea collection of articles written by Gabriel Matzneff between 2015 and 2019.

This publishing house, attached to the bookstore of the same name in the Latin Quarter in Paris, defines itself as “hussar” in literature and “from the identity right, patriot” in politics. “We find ourselves obliged to postpone the publication sine die” of this title, she said in a statement on Monday.

“Some reactions are totally out of proportion. At a time when freedom of expression is receding dangerously, the Nouvelle Librairie intends to guarantee it. However, it cannot accept the serious death threats addressed to its staff, whom it must protect., she added. Claiming to have already been the target of acts of vandalism, the bookshop explained that “now, these degradations are coupled with a real danger”and that she had made this decision for the physical security of [ses] employees”.

The writings collected in this book predated the publication in January 2020 of the story The consent by Vanessa Springora, who broke the scandal and prompted the Paris prosecutor’s office to immediately open an investigation for the rape of 15-year-old minors.

The author told how she had been seduced in the 1980s by the novelist when she was not 14 years old and he was almost 50 years old. Despite the means deployed to find facts not covered by the prescription, the investigation risks leading to a dismissal, for lack of being able to identify at least one recent victim of Gabriel Matzneff.

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