It is a book that shakes up. A seism
To paraphrase the title of Emilie Frçche’s essay, which earned her the political book prize for 2026 on Saturday, April 11th at the National Assembly, surpassing “For the Love of the People. History of Populism in France” by Marc Lazar (ed Gallimard) and “The Pack. Investigation into France Insoumise” by Charlotte Belaich and Olivier Pérou (Flammarion).
The rewarded book takes the form of a powerful and just journal, detailing the trial of the accomplices of the assassin of Samuel Paty. This middle school teacher was assassinated by an Islamist terrorist on October 16, 2020, just 300 meters from the school where he taught.
King Juan Carlos 1st Invited
“Emilie Frçche is the registrar of the follies and impostures of our time. So here is a book that forces us to look directly at not only the direct culprits, but also the diffuse complicity, the silences, the accommodations,” justified Anna Cabana, a jury member and head of the book section at La Tribune Dimanche, in her praise for the laureate.
This day of the political book prize was also marked by the presence of a special guest, King Juan Carlos 1st of Spain, who received a special award for his memoirs “Reconciliation,” a book published in France last autumn and co-written with the essayist Laurence Debray.
Note: The political book award was mistakenly mentioned as being for 2026 instead of the correct year.
