For this anniversary edition, the theme chosen is “Engagement,” an invitation to explore the various forms of political, intellectual, and civic engagement in a society marked by profound democratic changes. Round tables, meetings with authors, and public debates will punctuate this day organized at the heart of the parliamentary institution.
According to Luce Perrot, “the book remains an irreplaceable space for thinking about politics in the long term,” facing “the immediate mediatic and emotional dictatorship.” A view shared by Yaël Braun-Pivet, who believes that the Day of Political Books “illustrates the vitality of intellectual debate” and reminds us that “ideas, books, and dialogue are essential to democratic life.”
Throughout the day, a political bookstore will be set up at the National Assembly, allowing the public to meet over 110 authors. Book signings and direct exchanges with writers, public officials, and intellectuals will offer visitors privileged access to the works that currently fuel the debate of ideas.
Several highlights will structure this edition, including dialogues bringing together personalities from the political, intellectual, and media worlds. Themes to be addressed include a round table on political engagement, between conviction and illusion, a debate on new forms of civic engagement, a reflection on engagement in the public and media space, as well as a dialogue on the role of books and political thought in the democratic debate.
Many figures from the political and intellectual world are expected, such as Roselyne Bachelot, Michel Barnier, Élisabeth Borne, Sébastien Chenu, Alain Finkielkraut, Marcel Gauchet, Jérôme Guedj, Didier Leschi, Richard Malka, Rémi Macarez, Benjamin Morel, Dominique Reynié, and Boualem Sansal. Other speakers will be announced in the coming weeks.
The Day of Political Books will feature the presentation of four distinctions: the Political Book Prize (established in 1991), the Deputies’ Prize, the LCP Political Book Student Prize, and the LCP Political Comics Student Prize, which reward works that shed light on contemporary issues and the democratic debate.
Established in 2015, the Student Prize directly involves young generations in the debate of ideas through a jury of students in political and social sciences, notably from Sciences Po, chaired this year by Géraldine Bannier and Emmanuel Kessler.
The Political Book Prize is awarded by a jury of journalists and editorialists, presided over by historian Annette Wieviorka, with Michèle Cotta as general secretary, bringing together representatives from various media outlets. It is supported by a reading committee composed of Gérard Courtois, Philippe Mächet, Benjamin Morel, Pierre-François Veil, and Xavier Chinaud.
The Deputies’ Prize, established in 2004, is awarded by a jury of parliamentarians chaired by Yaël Braun-Pivet, with Brigitte Klinkert as vice-president and Guillaume Gouffier-Valente as general secretary, including a group of parliamentarians.
Photo credits: Day of Political Books
By Hocine Bouhadjera Contact: hb@actualitte.com
