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French finance minister raises eyebrows with racy new novel

A new novel by France's finance minister, containing one breathlessly erotic passage that has gone viral, has raised eyebrows - and questions about how he finds the time to publish his stream of books.

French finance minister raises eyebrows with racy new novel
French Minister for Economy, Finance, Industry and Digital Security Bruno Le Maire Photo by JOEL SAGET / AFP

Fugue americaine (American Fugue) by Finance and Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire, 54, is no less than the 13th book by the politician who has held his post since Emmanuel Macron came to power in 2017.

Le Maire has been on the front line of defending Macron’s controversial pension reform which has sparked months of sometimes violent protests but the government says is necessary to balance the books.

He also faces to pressure to help the French deal with the rising cost of living due to surges in fuel prices and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

But “American Fugue” inhabits a wholly different world.

It is devoted to the legendary pianist Vladimir Horowitz, through the story of two brothers, Franz and Oskar Wertheimer, who travel to Cuba to attend one of his concerts and whose lives are then turned upside down.

But it is one single page of the novel, widely shared and the target of mockery on social media, that has taken all the attention.

It describes Oskar having sex with a woman named as Julia, described in fairly explicit terms.

For those with a strong stomach, you can find the scene below . . .

MP for the hard-left La France Insoumise party François Ruffin said the minister should not have “a minute, an hour, a week of his time to devote to writing a book” when the French are experiencing “big worries about inflation”.

In an unfortunate coincidence for the minister, the novel was published on Thursday, just hours before credit ratings agency Fitch downgraded the country’s debt worthiness.

It also comes as controversy mounts over the communications of Macron’s government after social economy minister Marlene Schiappa posed for Playboy, albeit clothed.

Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne took umbrage over the April front cover shoot, calling Schiappa to tell her that it “was not at all appropriate, especially in the current period”.

Le Maire’s colleague Olivier Dussopt admitted he had not read the new novel but defended the minister’s right to write it.

“This shows that there are feelings… behind the suits of the ministers,” he told BFMTV, adding he had seen the erotic passage and it “made him smile”.

Le Maire, who has written five of his 13 books in the last four years alone, said he has no trouble mixing this double literary and political career.

“If there were only politics – without the freedom that literary and romantic creation gives – politics would not be enough,” he said last week in an interview with AFP.

In a statement on Twitter, Le Maire acknowledged that many followers were curious about “how I find the time to write while I am a minister”.

He added that while he was devoted to his job he had also learned to take care of “my personal balance”.

“Some people go to museums, cinemas, concerts, the football. Others do the gardening or go hiking. As for me, I write.”

“It’s a need that makes it worthwhile to get up early, go to bed late and to devote weekends and holidays to this.”

Politics and erotica

Le Maire is far from the only published author in the French government and many past and present ministers have turned their hands to erotic and romantic works.

Former Prime Minister Édouard Philippe co-wrote Dans l’Ombre (In the Shadows) a detective novel crossed with erotica, while Marlene Schiappa – who was a writer and blogger before becoming a politician – has never denied claims made by L’Express newspaper that in the past she authored erotic novels under a pseudonym.
 
French politician and novelist Aurélie Filippetti has also included a very racy scene in a novel and there’s the erotic novel written by former President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing in 1994, Le Passage (The Passing) which sparked rumours of an affair between the former president and Princess Diana.
 
And then of course there’s Emmanuel Macron’s unpublished novel. The President is believed to have, when very young, written a novel about his budding relationship with Brigitte Trogneux (now Madame Macron) although it’s not clear whether this a romance or something a little smuttier and very few people claim to have actually read it.

One of Le Maire’s previous works also sparked a few smiles, when he described Macron as having “a blue gaze tinted by metallic sparkles, like a lake burdened with sunshine whose surface it would have been impossible, under the scintillating reflections, to pierce.”

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FRENCH ELECTIONS

Coalition, resignation or shared rule? The possible outcomes of France’s snap elections

The latest polling in France's parliamentary elections shows no party winning an overall majority - so what happens then? Here's a look at the most likely scenarios.

Coalition, resignation or shared rule? The possible outcomes of France's snap elections

French President Emmanuel Macron’s surprise decision to call snap parliamentary elections has plunged the country into severe political uncertainty.

Polls project that none of the three main political camps – the far-right Rassemblement National (RN), the leftist Nouveau Front Populaire (NFP) or Macron’s centrists – will win enough seats to get an absolute majority in parliament.

One thing seems certain – it’s likely to be very messy indeed. But what are the most likely outcomes if parliament is truly deadlocked?

Listen to the team from The Local discussing the election latest in the Talking France podcast. Listen here or on the link below

Cohabitation

The far-right Rassemblement National of three-time presidential candidate Marine Le Pen and current party leader Jordan Bardella are tipped to be the party with most seats after the second round on July 7th.

If the RN and its allies did secure a majority in the Assemblée Nationale – and current polling suggests this is doubtful – Macron would find himself in a “cohabitation“, in which the president and government are from opposing parties.

Post-war France has experienced three such forced marriages. All were between the left and the centre-right with the last from 1997-2002 between President Jacques Chirac and Socialist premier Lionel Jospin.

Cohabitation: What happens in France’s political ‘forced marriages’?

A cohabition between the Macron and his far-right arch-enemies would likely be a much unhappier affair.

While the far-right would be able to implement part of its domestic programme, on, for example, curtailing immigration, only the president can call a referendum or trigger a vote on constitutional changes.

The president, who usually sets foreign and defence policy, could also find his hands tied if the RN appointed nationalist defence and foreign ministers opposed to his worldview.

Coalition

France has spurned coalitions since the post-war 4th Republic (1946-1958) when the country went through 22 governments in 12 years.

Since losing his parliamentary majority in 2022, Macron has sought to cobble together alliances in parliament on a vote-by-vote basis or to force through legislation without a vote rather than form a pact with another party.

The RN or the left could try do the same if they fall short of a majority but a minority government of the far-right or left would likely fail to pass a vote of no confidence.

Aware of the risks, RN leader Bardella has said he will refuse to become prime minister unless he wins an outright majority.

Macron’s camp hopes that in the event of a hung parliament it could form a coalition with moderates of the left and right.

As part of its outreach to possible allies, Macron’s party has not entered candidates in 67 constituencies where centre-right or centre-left candidates are running.

But Macron has limited his options by putting the hard-left La France Insoumise (LFI) — the dominant force in the NFP — on a par with the far-right in what he calls the country’s “extremes”. He accuses LFI of anti-Semitism, which it rejects.

Caretaker government

Another option would be for Macron to appoint a technocratic non-partisan government which all parties could get behind.

Camille Bedock, a political scientist at the Emile Durckheim centre in Bordeaux, cites the example of Italy, where respected former European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi formed a national unity government in 2021 when Italy was in turmoil. It lasted a year-and-a-half.

Bedock said Macron could also decide to leave the current government headed by his party’s Gabriel Attal in place in a caretaker capacity for a year. He could then call new elections.

This would have the benefit of ensuring continuity through the Olympic Games (July 26th – August 11th) when the country will be under intense global scrutiny.

Whether the far-right or left would support such a move, which would effectively buy Macron time to try turn around his presidency, is highly uncertain.

Macron resigns

The most dramatic scenario would see Macron resign if faced with the prospect of being neutered by the far right or the hard left.

Le Pen, who is expected to try succeed Macron in 2027 presidential polls, has warned that he “will have no choice but to resign” in the event of a “political crisis”.

READ ALSO Will Macron resign in the event of an election disaster?

Macron has vowed to remain on office until the end of his second term in 2027, whatever the outcome.

You can follow all the latest election news HERE or sign up to receive by email our bi-weekly election breakdown

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