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| French Culture Minister’s Prosaic Reading List Draws Criticism | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| PARIS — In France, the country of Sartre and Molière, literary knowledge is considered a sign of savoir faire, and all the more so, perhaps, if you are the person presiding over the country’s culture budget. | PARIS — In France, the country of Sartre and Molière, literary knowledge is considered a sign of savoir faire, and all the more so, perhaps, if you are the person presiding over the country’s culture budget. |
| So an admission by the French culture minister, Fleur Pellerin, that she has not read a book in two years has provoked horror among some members of the cultural elite here. | So an admission by the French culture minister, Fleur Pellerin, that she has not read a book in two years has provoked horror among some members of the cultural elite here. |
| The awkward confession, in an interview over the weekend on the television channel Canal Plus, spawned a storm of criticism on social media and beyond, and even some demands for the resignation of a seemingly uncultured culture minister who had previously been lauded for her intellect and style. | The awkward confession, in an interview over the weekend on the television channel Canal Plus, spawned a storm of criticism on social media and beyond, and even some demands for the resignation of a seemingly uncultured culture minister who had previously been lauded for her intellect and style. |
| When asked to name her favorite book by Patrick Modiano, the French author who recently won the Nobel Prize in Literature, Ms. Pellerin laughed uncomfortably, unable to name any work by the celebrated writer. | When asked to name her favorite book by Patrick Modiano, the French author who recently won the Nobel Prize in Literature, Ms. Pellerin laughed uncomfortably, unable to name any work by the celebrated writer. |
| Only weeks before, Ms. Pellerin had applauded Mr. Modiano for conveying France’s literary influence and vitality “in the eyes of the world.” And earlier in the interview, she had gushed that she had shared a wonderful lunch with Mr. Modiano, found him nice and laughed a lot. | Only weeks before, Ms. Pellerin had applauded Mr. Modiano for conveying France’s literary influence and vitality “in the eyes of the world.” And earlier in the interview, she had gushed that she had shared a wonderful lunch with Mr. Modiano, found him nice and laughed a lot. |
| Mr. Modiano, the 15th French writer to win the Nobel for literature, has published 30 works, including moody and concise fictional works set in Paris during World War II. | Mr. Modiano, the 15th French writer to win the Nobel for literature, has published 30 works, including moody and concise fictional works set in Paris during World War II. |
| Making matters worse, to some cultural observers, Ms. Pellerin said she had no problem admitting that she had not had much time to read a book for pleasure in two years. | Making matters worse, to some cultural observers, Ms. Pellerin said she had no problem admitting that she had not had much time to read a book for pleasure in two years. |
| “I read a lot of notes, a lot of legal texts, the news, A.F.P. stories, but I read very little,” she said. | “I read a lot of notes, a lot of legal texts, the news, A.F.P. stories, but I read very little,” she said. |
| The exchange was seen as an embarrassment among some members of the cultural cognoscenti, who have been basking in France’s cultural supremacy, with a flurry of new museum openings and the Nobel Prize, at a time when the economy and government are struggling. | |
| At the French site of The Huffington Post, Claude Askolovitch, a writer, said Ms. Pellerin’s oversight was no less than “barbaric” and called for her to resign, arguing that what he described as her crude indifference to France’s Nobel laureate made her unfit for the job. | At the French site of The Huffington Post, Claude Askolovitch, a writer, said Ms. Pellerin’s oversight was no less than “barbaric” and called for her to resign, arguing that what he described as her crude indifference to France’s Nobel laureate made her unfit for the job. |
| “Barbarism is here,” he said. “If one can be culture minister without reading, then we are mere technocrats and budgeters.” He chided her for prioritizing the reading of ministerial memos over the uplift provided by great literary works. | “Barbarism is here,” he said. “If one can be culture minister without reading, then we are mere technocrats and budgeters.” He chided her for prioritizing the reading of ministerial memos over the uplift provided by great literary works. |
| Others, however, were more forgiving and commended Ms. Pellerin for showing a candor all too rare among politicians. | Others, however, were more forgiving and commended Ms. Pellerin for showing a candor all too rare among politicians. |
| Defenders noted that until recently, Ms. Pellerin had been a junior minister in charge of promoting small and medium-size businesses, innovation and the digital economy, and that such savvy trumped literary knowledge at a time when the economy was sputtering and culture budgets were stretched thin. | Defenders noted that until recently, Ms. Pellerin had been a junior minister in charge of promoting small and medium-size businesses, innovation and the digital economy, and that such savvy trumped literary knowledge at a time when the economy was sputtering and culture budgets were stretched thin. |
| “One can salute her frankness, understanding that the life of a minister leaves little time for the calm required for reading, and even salute the spontaneity of Fleur Pellerin,” said an article in Le Point titled “Fleur Pellerin hasn’t read Modiano! So what?” | |
| Even before, Ms. Pellerin, 41, had become an object of some fascination among the French. Born in South Korea, she was adopted by a French family when she was 6 months old. She graduated at the top of her class at the École Nationale d’Administration, the training ground for future French presidents and prime ministers. Colleagues say that before working 14-hour days as a minister, Ms. Pellerin was a prolific reader of fiction and nonfiction, and that she is equally at ease admiring a Picasso painting as she is listening to a hip-hop track. | Even before, Ms. Pellerin, 41, had become an object of some fascination among the French. Born in South Korea, she was adopted by a French family when she was 6 months old. She graduated at the top of her class at the École Nationale d’Administration, the training ground for future French presidents and prime ministers. Colleagues say that before working 14-hour days as a minister, Ms. Pellerin was a prolific reader of fiction and nonfiction, and that she is equally at ease admiring a Picasso painting as she is listening to a hip-hop track. |
| On Twitter, the interview provoked equal expressions of humor, righteous indignation and bemusement at all the fuss. “Fleur Pellerin incapable of citing a book by Modiano, do you mean that she hadn’t read Wikipedia that day, like three-quarters of Twitter?” wrote Matteu Maestracci, a journalist for the radio broadcaster France Info. | On Twitter, the interview provoked equal expressions of humor, righteous indignation and bemusement at all the fuss. “Fleur Pellerin incapable of citing a book by Modiano, do you mean that she hadn’t read Wikipedia that day, like three-quarters of Twitter?” wrote Matteu Maestracci, a journalist for the radio broadcaster France Info. |
| One Twitter user, Henri Rouquier, for his part, tried to insert a sense of proportion. “France has finally confronted its biggest problem at this time of national crisis: Fleur Pellerin has not read Modiano,” he wrote. | One Twitter user, Henri Rouquier, for his part, tried to insert a sense of proportion. “France has finally confronted its biggest problem at this time of national crisis: Fleur Pellerin has not read Modiano,” he wrote. |
| Outside France, Ms. Pellerin might receive even more sympathy. Although revered at home, Mr. Modiano, until recently, was largely unknown abroad. One of his novels, “Rue des Boutiques Obscures,” released as “Missing Person” in English, won the prestigious Prix Goncourt in 1978, but has sold just 2,425 copies in the United States. | Outside France, Ms. Pellerin might receive even more sympathy. Although revered at home, Mr. Modiano, until recently, was largely unknown abroad. One of his novels, “Rue des Boutiques Obscures,” released as “Missing Person” in English, won the prestigious Prix Goncourt in 1978, but has sold just 2,425 copies in the United States. |