Each hopes to rejuvenate an assembly that needs it. The writers Frédéric Beigbeder and Benoît Duteurtre clash Thursday in an uncertain election to the French Academy. It is in the afternoon that the 35 Immortals, at least those who may be present, will have to choose between nine candidates, two of whom are favorites, and seven others have no chance.
Benoît Duteurtre, 62, declared himself at the end of June. This novelist, Prix Médicis 2001 with The trip to France, had received from the Academy in 2017, for all of his work, the Grand Prize for Literature Henri Gal. He saw a serious rival appear in early October: Frédéric Beigbeder, 57, who has been dreaming of the green suit for almost a year, according to The Express.
Between these two men of the same generation, it is a “fratricidal joust”, a “clap of thunder”, wrote Le Figaro when the second started. “They risk neutralizing each other,” said one of the academicians interviewed by the daily, on condition of anonymity.
The possibility mentioned is that of a “white election” where no candidate obtains an absolute majority. This is what happened in May, when two journalists, Franz-Olivier Giesbert and Olivier Barrot, were rejected after four unsuccessful rounds. The seat to be filled is still armchair 19, previously occupied by the writer Jean-Loup Dabadie, but also Boileau, Chateaubriand, Paul Deschanel or René Clair.
Among the seven other candidates on Thursday, the best known is Eduardo Pisani, singer under the name Eduardo. This is his 17th candidacy, and is trying to beat Émile Zola’s record, failed 25 times. There are still four other seats to be filled at the French Academy, on a date yet to be determined.