The jury of the Max Gallo Prize of the city of Nice has unveiled the list of four works selected for the final selection of the 2026 edition. The name of the winner will be announced in December at Villa Masséna, in Nice.
The Max Gallo Prize of the city of Nice continues its 2026 edition. Convened under the presidency of Emmanuel de Waresquiel, member of the Institute and of the Academy of Moral and Political Sciences, the jury selected four works from among the nine novels and historical accounts from the first selection.
A recognized historian, Emmanuel de Waresquiel is the author of numerous works devoted to the 18th century, the French Revolution, the First Empire and constitutional monarchies. Among the published titles are Talleyrand, Fouché, Hundred Days, Seven Days, Judging the Queen, Jeanne du Barry and We Needed Myths.
The Max Gallo Prize 2026 will be presented in December at Villa Masséna, Nice’s museum of art and history, in the presence of Éric Ciotti, Mayor of Nice and President of the Nice Côte d’Azur Metropolis.
Pierre Assouline won the 2025 edition with The Announcement, published by Gallimard.
Four writers in the final
Thierry Brunello is among the finalists with Farewell to Venice (La Martinière). Originating from a family in Veneto and Emilia-Romagna, the author is signing a first novel.
Frédéric Mounier is selected for The Oilwoman and the Jesuit (Cerf). Former correspondent for La Croix at the Vatican, the journalist now presents the program The Roots of the Present on RCF, after hosting Face to Christians.
Laurent Seksik is selected for The Day of War Has Arrived (Gallimard). A trained physician, former resident and head of clinic at Paris hospitals, Laurent Seksik has established himself in the literary landscape with several novels, including The Case of Eduard Einstein, finalist for the Femina Prize and the Goncourt Prize for high school students in 2013.
Chantal Thomas completes this selection with Women Against an Azure Background (Seuil). Member of the French Academy, a philosopher by training and specialist in the 18th century, the writer is notably the author of Farewells to the Queen, Femina Prize 2002, adapted for cinema by Benoît Jacquot.
The jury brings together, alongside Emmanuel de Waresquiel, Maryvonne de Saint Pulgent, Marielle Gallo, Henri-Christian Giraud, Didier Le Fur, Jérémy Guedj and Pascal Ory, from the French Academy.
A prize created in tribute to Max Gallo
The Max Gallo Prize pays tribute to the writer, historian, essayist and academician, deeply attached to Nice. Born in 1932 in a family of Italian immigrants settled in the capital of the Côte d’Azur, Max Gallo grew up in the city before teaching at the Masséna high school and then at university.
A journalist, politician and author of over 130 works, Max Gallo devoted a large part of his work to telling the story of France and the destinies of those who shaped it.
In his autobiography, Max Gallo wrote: “And everything for me, my life, life, war, History, was a novel, interweavings of individual adventures.” A quote chosen by the city of Nice to accompany the tribute paid to the writer.
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