Люди во время встречи первого восхода солнца Нового 2023 года в Сеуле  - Sputnik International, 1920, 21.04.2023
Beyond Politics
Check out all the latest trending news and stories from across the globe and the Internet! Lifestyle, cultural stories, social media hits, latest science and technology news, photos, videos, and much more!

French Minister Gets Flack For Racy Novel When 'Millions Can’t Fill Fridges or Pay Rent'

© AFP 2023 / JOEL SAGETFrench Minister for Economy, Finance, Industry and Digital Security Bruno Le Maire poses during a photo session at home in Paris on April 27, 2023.
French Minister for Economy, Finance, Industry and Digital Security Bruno Le Maire poses during a photo session at home in Paris on April 27, 2023.  - Sputnik International, 1920, 04.05.2023
Subscribe
After hitting bookstores on 27 April, Fugue Américaine - a novel about legendary pianist Vladimir Horowitz - has turned the heat up under France’s Economy and Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire. Some critics have even accused the French official of shunning his duties to churn out eyebrow-raising, raunchy literary passages.
A torrid sex scene in Bruno Le Maire’s latest novel has prompted many critics to advise the French Economy and Finance Minister to stick to his day job.
The novel, released in late April, is about virtuoso pianist Vladimir Horowitz. In 'Fugue Américaine', Le Maire narrates how two brothers, Franz and Oskar Wertheimer, from New York, set off for Cuba to hear the illustrious pianist play at a concert in 1949.
But some steamy passages when 'Oskar' describes his lovemaking with a woman called Julia have been fogging the eyeglasses of readers. Critics on social media have been wondering whether the French official’s time might be better spent focusing on the day job.
Critics flocked to social media to point out that during the mass protests engulfing France in connection with the controversial pension reform recently passed by President Emmanuel Macron, the tone of Le Maire’s side gig struck a dissonant note.
© Photo : TwitterTwitter screenshot.
Twitter screenshot. - Sputnik International, 1920, 04.05.2023
Twitter screenshot.
Le Maire got flack for his saucy literary escapades at a time when France's financial rating was downgraded from "AA" to "AA-" by the American agency Fitch.
© Photo : TwitterTwitter screenshot.
Twitter screenshot. - Sputnik International, 1920, 04.05.2023
Twitter screenshot.
Many took issue with the French minister's writing style, and quipped that "a psychological unit" ought to be set up, accessible for "all those who have inadvertently come across the erotic texts of Bruno Le Maire.”
© Photo : TwitterTwitter screenshot.
Twitter screenshot. - Sputnik International, 1920, 04.05.2023
Twitter screenshot.
Others claimed they wished they could "unsee" the erotic passages that came from Le Maire's pen.
© Photo : TwitterTwitter screenshot.
Twitter screenshot. - Sputnik International, 1920, 04.05.2023
Twitter screenshot.
Other Twitter posts recalled former French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing’s 2009 novel ‘La Princesse et le Président’, which they found imminently more palatable. Social media users were simply turned off by the racy passages in the book.
© Photo : TwitterTwitter screenshot.
Twitter screenshot. - Sputnik International, 1920, 04.05.2023
Twitter screenshot.
Thomas Portes, deputy leader of opposition party La France Insoumise went on Twitter to point out that, "millions can’t eat or fill their fridges or pay their rent", while the minister Bruno Le Maire "writes novels."
© Photo : TwitterTwitter screenshot.
Twitter screenshot. - Sputnik International, 1920, 04.05.2023
Twitter screenshot.
The French minister himself fervidly defended his literary endeavor, which incidentally is far from his first.

"This novel is a great human adventure and I wish it be read as such ... Nothing will hinder my freedom to write," Le Maire was quoted as saying in the media.

He added:
I am not a politician who writes books, I am a politician AND a writer.”
In this Nov. 24, 2018 file photo, a demonstrator waves the French flag on a burning barricade on the Champs-Elysees avenue with the Arc de Triomphe in background, during a demonstration against the rise of fuel taxes.  - Sputnik International, 1920, 30.04.2023
World
France to See Largest May Day Demonstrations in 30-40 Years
Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала