THE news of President François Hollande being awarded the ‘Statesman of the World’ prize last week by a rather dubious organisation called the Appeal of Conscience was taken with prudence, and with a bit of amusement, by the media and the intellectual circles here.

During the ceremony at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York that Hollande could not resist attending in person, tributes were paid not only to his “safeguarding of democracy and freedom” in France but also to his “undeniable contribution to global peace and security”.

Though TV networks aired a live coverage, nobody appeared much impressed by the event, not forgetting the fact that 230 people had lost their lives under repeated terrorist attacks in France ever since Hollande took over as president. Taxes have shot up to unprecedented heights and national economy statistics as well as unemployment figures have hit the ground level. According to an opinion poll conducted by daily Le Figaro and published on Sept 12, less than 19 per cent people still approve of Hollande’s leadership in his own country.

To make matters worse, for the past three years France is witnessing a rising spirit of insubordination and revolt through public demonstrations in all major cities. One frightening example is the taking over of Place de la République in the centre of Paris by a movement called ‘La Nuit Debout’ (On Your Feet the Whole Night). For many months demonstrations were organised here on a round-the-clock basis. Police cars were burnt and centuries-old statues were covered with provocative graffiti.

By the time the fever died down end of August, the cleaning up of the historical monument cost the city of Paris a mind-boggling toll of 15 million euros!

Another countrywide dissent that still remains far from being over is the protest against the government’s new labour law project that is contested not only by all the workers’ unions but also by a number of socialist leaders.

This general atmosphere of lawlessness has revived an old slogan: il est interdit d’interdire invented by youthful leaders of the 1968 students revolt. A number of French intellectuals have come forward to explain what it really means when you say “it is forbidden to forbid”.

Luc Ferry, a philosophy professor who was in his teens during the 1968 Paris riots, is reputed for his talent of explaining complex social and political enigmas in simple, everyday language.

Speaking on radio a few days ago he said putting restrictions on citizens in certain domains is the responsibility of the authority and a society where there are no constraints remains a total mess.

Ferry divides the notion of authority in three categories: “First comes the authority of tradition. Even if Emperor Akihito and Queen Elizabeth have no defined roles in the Japanese and British constitutions, their traditional presence is indispensible for peace and harmony in their countries. Parents have a traditional authority without which children would turn out into ignorant rogues, dangerous for the society. Religious and community rules play a similar role in the lives of individuals.

Then, we have the authority of the law. We pay taxes, stop at red traffic lights and obey police officers who would like to check our ID cards. If we refuse to accept such everyday legal obligations we are simply outlaws.” The last in the list of these three categories of authority, says Prof Ferry, is charisma. “Our enchantment with certain kind of public figures can turn into bliss or nightmare, depending on our idols themselves.

Gen Charles de Gaulle and Sir Winston Churchill were leaders who used charisma for the good of their people. At the same time a similar magical spell of Russians and Germans by men like Stalin and Hitler was exploited to turn political systems into totalitarian dictatorships.”

The writer is a journalist based in Paris.

ZafMasud@gmail.com

Published in Dawn, October 2nd, 2016