Beigbeder: "Houellebecq says to himself that progress is not necessarily positive"

INTERVIEW

This is one of the events of the literary season.

Michel Houellebecq is publishing a new book, a collection of essays called

, which will be released in bookstores on Wednesday.

As acclaimed as he is controversial, the author of

fascinates as much as he annoys.

His friend and writer Frédéric Beigbeder returned to Europe 1 on Wednesday morning on the reasons for the Houellebecq “phenomenon” and his increasingly marked political positions in recent years.

"If ever we have to divide the world into two categories, the progressives and the conservatives, it is rather in this second. He is one of the people who say to themselves that progress is not necessarily something positive," said Frédéric Beigbeder.

"We see the destruction of a lot of values, a lot of beauty around you and the ugliness, the stupefaction, the rise of violence. I can imagine that you want to keep what can still be."

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"He's provocative and doesn't like to go with the wind"

In his latest book, Michel Houellebecq defends Donald Trump and goes so far as to consider him to be one of the best presidents in the history of the United States.

"I think he's quite provocative and likes not to go with the wind. Besides, he's free to support whomever he wants. I don't think he's a fanatic of America. in general, so maybe he thinks that someone like Trump is a good representative for this country, "said Frédéric Beigbeder.

"But I think he is an author who has become conservative in the etymological sense, that is to say he seeks to save what can still be saved. I think the current situation gives him a little reason We are living in a time when the idea of ​​being reactionary has unfortunately become a sign of intelligence ", continued the author of

.

"He manages to measure the movements of society"

For Frédéric Beigbeder, Michel Houellebecq's success stems above all from his ability to analyze modern society.

"He has a very laconic way of describing contemporary despair and the difficulty of being a man in these times. I think he saw a lot of things that can be verified," he said.

"He's someone who really feels the sociological changes, which is surprising because he's trained as an agricultural engineer. He's not really a sociologist, but he manages to measure the movements of society" , continued the writer.

"In

, perhaps the most interesting is not the substance of what he says, but the way he writes it. As if someone were dictating thoughts that were a little visionary, a little scary too, which sometimes prove to be prophetic. "