Laurent Obertone (born 10 April 1984) is a French writer and journalist. He has written polemical books which the French media describes as reactionary. His first book, La France Orange mécanique, became a bestseller in 2013. He is known for his novel trilogy Guérilla (2016–2022), which is about civil war in France.
Life and work edit
The name Laurent Obertone is a pseudonym which the author began to use in 2010 when he wrote for the online magazine Ring.[1] The same year, the novelist Michel Houellebecq created media reactions by bringing Obertone to a dinner with President Nicolas Sarkozy at the Élysée Palace, following Houellebecq's Prix Goncourt win for The Map and the Territory.[2] Obertone received more attention in 2013 when his own book La France Orange mécanique (transl. The Clockwork Orange France) became a bestseller. The book is about increasing violence in France, which Obertone links to immigration and calls "the wildening" (French: l'ensauvagement) of the country.[1] It was followed by several polemical books, including 2015's La France Big Brother (transl. The Big Brother France), a critical analysis of how France is ruled which L'Express described as "reactionary" and "sexist".[3]
Obertone's writings have made an impact on France's far right,[4][1][5][6] mainstream right,[7][8][9] and a few government ministers in the cabinets of Édouard Philippe and Jean Castex.[10][11]
Obertone has written a trilogy of novels called Guérilla (2016–2022), which is about how civil war breaks out in France, spurred on by social media and mainstream journalists. The novels became bestsellers.[12]
Together with Papacito, Marsault and Laura Magné, he co-founded the quarterly satire magazine La Furia. The first issue was published in January 2022 and sold 60,000 copies.[13]
Publications edit
Non-fiction edit
- La France Orange mécanique, Paris, Éditions Ring, 2013, ISBN 979-10-91447-03-4
- Utøya, Paris, Éditions Ring, 2013, ISBN 978-1-09-144708-0[14]
- La France Big Brother, Paris, Éditions Ring, 2015, ISBN 979-10-95776-01-7
- Le Diable du ciel, Paris, Éditions Ring, 2017, ISBN 979-10-91447-68-3
- La France interdite, Paris, Éditions Ring, 2018, ISBN 9791091447812
- Éloge de la force : Renverser l'histoire, Paris, Éditions Ring, 2020
- Game Over: La révolution antipolitique, Paris, Éditions Magnus, 2022, ISBN 978-2-38422-000-7
Novels edit
- Guérilla, Paris, Éditions Ring, 2016, ISBN 979-10-91447-49-2
- Guérilla : Le temps des barbares, Paris, Éditions Ring, 2019[15]
- Guérilla : le dernier combat, Éditions Magnus, 2022, ISBN 978-2384220083
References edit
- ^ a b c Hugues, Bastien (7 March 2013). "Trois choses à savoir sur Laurent Obertone, le journaliste fétiche du FN". France Info (in French). Retrieved 1 September 2023.
- ^ Dupuis, Jérôme (23 January 2013). "Houellebecq, Sarkozy et l'ultraviolence en France". L'Express. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
- ^ Sénécat, Adrien (14 January 2015). ""La France Big Brother", le pamphlet réactionnaire et sexiste de Laurent Obertone". L'Express (in French). Retrieved 1 September 2023.
- ^ "«La France interdite» de Laurent Obertone, le livre de chevet de Marine Le Pen". L'Opinion (in French). 30 November 2018. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
- ^ "Que contient la liste de livres recommandés par le FN à ses militants ?". Les Inrocks (in French). Retrieved 1 September 2023.
- ^ "Laurent Obertone se désiste de son procès contre Mediapart". blogs.mediapart.fr. 2 September 2015. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
- ^ "L'UMP s'intéresserait à Laurent Obertone". BFMTV (in French). Retrieved 1 September 2023.
- ^ Celnik, Nicolas (7 August 2020). "«Ensauvagement» : le grand retournement". Libération (in French). Retrieved 1 September 2023.
- ^ "VIDEO. Opération de police à Grenoble : "On n'a pas besoin de communication, on a besoin d'action", estime François-Xavier Bellamy". France Info (in French). 27 August 2020. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
- ^ ""Ensauvagement" : quelle est l'histoire de ce terme utilisé à tout-va par Darmanin et l'extrême droite ?". LCI (in French). Retrieved 1 September 2023.
- ^ "L'« ensauvagement », un mot à l'histoire sinueuse, surtout utilisé par l'extrême droite". Le Monde (in French). 3 September 2020. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
- ^ Hussey, Andrew (9 August 2023). "Civil war isn't coming to France — for now". The Spectator. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
- ^ Cassini, Sandrine (23 May 2022). "« La Furia », le « Hara-Kiri » de droite radicale". Le Monde (in French). Retrieved 23 January 2024.
- ^ Vantroyen, Jean-Claude (28 August 2013). "Laurent Obertone dans la tête d'Anders Breivik". Le Soir (in French). Retrieved 1 September 2023.
- ^ Watremez, Rémy (24 June 2019). "Rentrée littéraire 2019 : Laurent Obertone de la partie avec son nouveau livre". Lettres it be (in French). Retrieved 1 September 2023.