Sylvain Tesson thinks the book which rejects him to the far right is “riddled with errors”

As the Spring of Poets approaches, of which he is the contested godfather, the writer Sylvain Tesson saw “factual errors” in the book which designates him as “having frequented the extreme right” throughout his career, -he declared Thursday to AFP.

The bestselling author of The Snow Panther (Renaudot Prize in 2019) was interviewed on the sidelines of the presentation of the Vinci Autoroutes Foundation's operation to distribute 25,000 paperback books in 10 motorway service areas in July and August, in order to to “promote longer stops” and “share the pleasure of reading”.

Also read: With the fairies, Sylvain Tesson seeks the Grail

Before that, he was the godfather of the Spring of Poets, organized throughout France from March 9 to 25. A column published in Libération on January 18, signed by several authors (Nancy Huston, Baptiste Beaulieu, Chloé Delaume...), called for him to be removed from this function, denouncing "a reactionary ideology" in a "leading figure" of the “literary extreme right”. Sylvain Tesson agreed to answer a few questions regarding this controversy.

AFP. - The journalist François Krug, in French Reactions: investigation into the literary extreme right, wants to describe your “relations with the most radical extreme right”. Have you read this book and what did you think of it?

Sylvain Tesson. - “Yes, of course, I read it. But, frankly, I don't want to talk about that. It’s beyond my strength.”

The petition which opposed your being godfather of the Spring of Poets cited this book, but it aroused very broad disapproval. And ultimately it helped the sales of your latest book (Dans les fées, Éditions des Équateurs, published in January).

“What makes you say that? Have you compared the sales of my old books to this one? Do you really believe that it was the controversy that contributed to the success of my book?

Don't you think it made you even more widely known?

“Perhaps and, in this case, I thank the effect of the controversy. But I don't want to talk about Mr. Krug at all. Le Seuil [publisher of Réactions françaises] is a Christian house. They contributed, I thank them very much. I could never write a book like that. Which is a superb work! Full of errors... Journalistic and very poorly written. Riddled with factual errors. It's a shame!"

You are sponsor of this operation of the Vinci Autoroutes Foundation and sponsor of the Spring of Poets, which has earned you the support of members of the government, Rachida Dati and Bruno Le Maire. Is this not taking the risk of too much institutionalization, you who claim your freedom, your independence?

“I don’t feel locked into anything. I claim my freedom so much that I claim the freedom to do things that seem to hinder it slightly. No, it was an inconvenience for me, because as Boris Vian says in the song, we are not here to get yelled at.”