A probing exploration into exquisite myths and failing ideals that are barely holding France together.
Once a romanticized beacon of democracy, culture, and the arts, France has slowly slid further and further away from its historic image of liberty, equality and fraternity. The country is on the brink. With a precarious labor force facing dwindling wages, a right-wing political surge that has resulted in drastic acts of Islamaphobia and Anti-Seminitism, and a media increasingly led by government cronies, France has entered an unprecedented era of social, political and economic turbulence. So, where is France heading, who runs it, and why does it matter?
In “Fixing France”, French-Algerian journalist Nabila Ramdani gets to the very heart of a declining France racked with division. From the rise of Marine Le Pen to the segregated suburbs to the growing educational divide and wealth disparity, Ramdani offers a compelling and original critique of contemporary France. Deeply reported, the book is filled with interviews with senior public figures, including all presidents of the 21st century as well as with numerous ordinary French people who feel excluded by the powerbrokers and from the establishment institutions that run their lives. Yet, while Ramdani follows France's historical tradition of dissent, she simultaneously acknowledges that there is much to be hopeful about. What emerges is a true portrait of a country undergoing dramatic change and upheaval.
