Living Legends in France: the people changemakers recommend

The selection

• Amélie NothombParis, France“Amélie Nothomb, writer and extraordinary woman. Because her presence in the world of writing is a constant source of inspiration, as is the idea that one can write every single day, each day at dawn, and deliver readers a new book every year, for the sole reason that inspiration never runs dry. Her very existence is a constant reminder of my own laziness.”Recommended by Ilaria Gaspari
• Institut Océanographique Paul Ricardîle des Embiez, France“Fifty years of independent science on the Mediterranean, open to the public for free. A gift.”Recommended by Florian Guillaume
• La ChartreuseAiguenoire, France“They chose to make less so as to stay what they are. That takes courage, and I admire it.”Recommended by Florian Guillaume
• Léna BlouPointe-à-Pitre, France“Léna Blou invites us to reflect on the colonial legacy and on how the body can become a space of emancipation, capable of transforming both an individual and an entire society.”Recommended by Coralie Custos Quatreville
• Olivier RoellingerCancale, FranceRecommended by Katy Foraz
• Philippe MeirieuLyon, France“An educationalist and a figure of progressive education, Philippe Meirieu defends a school where pupils search, experiment and build their own knowledge, and he always ties learning to democracy.”Recommended by Paul Emilieu Marchesseau
• Pierre RosanvallonParis, France“Because he built an entire intellectual project around making democracy work better rather than just critiquing it, and because he showed that rigorous scholarship and public engagement are not just compatible but necessary complements.”Recommended by Alberto Alemanno
• VelaParis, FranceRecommended by Simon Bernard