FRANCE FICTIONS: History of Preconceived Ideas About the History of France

“In the noise, it happens that past manipulations will be devoid of freedom. We do not have the capacity to exercise clarity.” “La France née du baptême de Clovis”; “Napoleon, this tyrant”; “The soldiers of 1914 from the ‘Fleur de Lys’ party”; “The absolute right to act alone”; “Man opposes women’s suffrage”; “Colonialism benefits greatly from the colonies”, and so on. Supporting our vigilance, what contradicts the myths related to the history of France? Were they forged to serve those interests? Six recitations of some myths, each supported by a portion of truth, whose origins cannot be fully restored. Five historians and onomastics specialists offer a clear and well-documented panorama of France’s historical records, exposing the tools of ancient manipulation, here in the present, to improve our resistance. A book accessible through civic ambition: restoring the national heritage in all its complexity, affirming that living democracy cannot be built on convenient illusions. Sous la direction de Yann Bouvier, with contributions from Justine Oudibrand, Marie-Hélène Baylac, Nicolas Bouper, Pierre-Yves Bourbier, Florian Besson, William Blanc, Yannick Bousc, Anne-Sarah Bouglé-Moualek, Yann Bouvier, Jean-Numa Ducange, Bruno Domizil, Annie Dubrat, Jérémy Foa, Christophe Foron, Juliette Glickman, Jérémy Gedge, Anthony Guyon, Laurent Joly, Vincent Joly, Sandrine Loumier, Jérôme Litange, Mathieu Marly, Françoise Thibault, Denis Tourel, and Charles Eloy Vial.