ABSTRACT
Cultural stereotypes die hard. Georgia de Chamberet, the editor of an anthology of recent French writing, translated into English and aiming to put readers in touch with the ‘real France’ of today, warns them to put out of mind a certain number of ‘glorified clichés’ which have had a long life:
cafés and Left-Bank existentialism, sultry sexy sirens and pouting starlets, Godard and Truffaut, Coco Chanel and chic little poodles, châteaux and fine wines, Provence and pastis, brie and baguettes, Magnum Photographers … Duras and le nouveau roman, 1968 and all that
De Chamberet 1999, ix As an alternative ‘real France’, her anthology includes an interview with the football player Marcel Desailly, as well as pieces by the avant-garde DJ Christov Rühn aka DJ Tov, and a dozen or so young journalists or fiction-writers, of both sexes and varied ethnic and national origins. They reflect the ‘cultural mosaic’ of France today, with a special emphasis on the suburbs and inner cities, on youth culture and films like La Haine.