Saturday, November 21, 2009

Camus to the Pantheon?

Sarkozy has decided he would like to move Camus to the Pantheon. It's been fifty years since Camus' death, and this is Sarkozy's way of honoring the Nobel laureate. I have read numerous articles and emails from colleagues on this topic. It seems absurd to me to move this man who wrote with such love and nostalgia for his bright and warm homeland, to such a cold solemn place in the heart of Paris. I asked one of my colleagues, what would Camus want?

It's become, of course, a political issue. Jean-Marie Le Pen is calling this an "électoraliste" decision. "Celui d'un écrivain pied-noir à quatre mois des élections régionales où probablement la majorité va subir une lourde défaite, je crois que c'est assez évident". I asked the same colleague, why does anyone care what Le Pen thinks? "C'est de la politique".

Poor Camus. He's being made into a symbol and possibly a monument.