The 24th Nice Book Festival concluded on Sunday, after three days filled with events, debates, and literary discoveries.
Despite the somewhat stifling temperatures, the paths of Albert 1er park attracted a large number of visitors, who came to listen, stroll, or simply read.
On Friday afternoon, Christian Estrosi, Mayor of Nice, President of the Nice Côte d’Azur Metropolis, Deputy President of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur Region, Jean-Jacques Annaud, Honorary President of the Festival, and Franz-Olivier Giesbert, Artistic Director of the Festival and President of the Jury, cut the inaugural ribbon of the 24th edition of the Nice Book Festival “Bonjour le Cinéma” and awarded the “Nice Baie des Anges 2019” prize to Daniel Picouly for his novel Ninety Seconds published by Albin Michel.
On this occasion, the traveling exhibition “La Victorine dans l’œil des Mirkine” was also inaugurated, to be discovered at Place Masséna until September 25, 2019, as part of the Arts Biennale “Nice 2019. L’Odyssée du Cinéma.”
The festival was punctuated by several highlights, particularly through the conferences and debates organized during these three days. Inside the majestic opera house, visitors and curious onlookers could hear director Jean-Jacques Annaud talk humorously and with anecdotes about his prolific career. “One can be killed more easily by an American actor than by a tiger,” he remarked about the 2004 feature film “Two Brothers.”
Essayist Michel Onfray, whose intervention was evidently anticipated (full house), spoke with Franz-Olivier Giesbert to present his new book “Theory of the Dictatorship.” The philosopher addressed various topics related to today’s society: control, information, consumption, culture, and the impoverishment of language. With a slightly provocative tone, he expressed himself on the collapse of culture, due to a certain disdain among the youth for classic literature and the love of language.
