Henri Astier
@henriastier.bsky.social
Paris-born, London-based journalist. Main outlets: BBC, Times Literary Supplement, The Critic, Persuasion. https://henriastier.substack.com/
René Viénet — docker's son, situationist, sinologist, scourge of Mao-worshippers, filmmaker — on uncovering ancient prejudice among fellow radicals. Guest post on Out of France henriastier.substack.com/p/left-wing-...
Left-wing antisemitism: an infantile disorder
A French rebel remembers how an old hatred resurfaced among post-1968 revolutionaries
henriastier.substack.com
June 9, 2026 at 3:05 PM
René Viénet — docker's son, situationist, sinologist, scourge of Mao-worshippers, filmmaker — on uncovering ancient prejudice among fellow radicals. Guest post on Out of France henriastier.substack.com/p/left-wing-...
Hundreds of French film professionals declare war on their paymaster - then demand he keeps paying. My latest Substack piece henriastier.substack.com/p/blood-on-t... #Canalplus #Cannes2026 #ZapperBolloré
Blood on the red carpet
At the Cannes festival, the French film industry erupts into farce
henriastier.substack.com
May 23, 2026 at 9:04 AM
Hundreds of French film professionals declare war on their paymaster - then demand he keeps paying. My latest Substack piece henriastier.substack.com/p/blood-on-t... #Canalplus #Cannes2026 #ZapperBolloré
A 30-year-old with no government experience but a huge TikTok following is the favourite to become French president within a year. My latest piece: henriastier.substack.com/p/bardellas-...
#Bardella #RassemblementNational #France2027
#Bardella #RassemblementNational #France2027
Bardella's populism with French characteristics
Meet the banlieue boy in a dark suit knocking on the Elysée's door
henriastier.substack.com
May 9, 2026 at 4:40 PM
A 30-year-old with no government experience but a huge TikTok following is the favourite to become French president within a year. My latest piece: henriastier.substack.com/p/bardellas-...
#Bardella #RassemblementNational #France2027
#Bardella #RassemblementNational #France2027
My latest Substack on the "earthquake" agitating the small world of French publishing. For many, the firing of Grasset boss Olivier Nora by billionaire owner Vincent Bolloré signals a totalitarian threat. Really? #Grasset #Bolloré #Nora bit.ly/3OEh0hK
The media mogul and the martyr
Shockingly, a business owner fires a star employee who disagrees with him
bit.ly
April 24, 2026 at 10:09 AM
My latest Substack on the "earthquake" agitating the small world of French publishing. For many, the firing of Grasset boss Olivier Nora by billionaire owner Vincent Bolloré signals a totalitarian threat. Really? #Grasset #Bolloré #Nora bit.ly/3OEh0hK
The late Lionel #Jospin, France's prime minister from 1997 to 2002, was hailed as a model of integrity. But his concealed Trotskyist past challenges that widely accepted image. My piece for American Purpose #France bit.ly/4sl7VrP @americanpurpose.bsky.social
Lionel Jospin: French Prime Minister, Secret Trotskyist
What his complicated legacy tells us about France.
bit.ly
April 10, 2026 at 9:06 AM
The late Lionel #Jospin, France's prime minister from 1997 to 2002, was hailed as a model of integrity. But his concealed Trotskyist past challenges that widely accepted image. My piece for American Purpose #France bit.ly/4sl7VrP @americanpurpose.bsky.social
The 11th-century Chinese scholar Mi Fu had a habit of bowing before his favourite stone and chanting "Glorious rock, I am your slave." Roger Caillois (1913-1978) thought this was entirely reasonable. My thoughts on the eccentric French polymath and his passion for minerals t.ly/WgbFi
Roger Caillois's dreams of stone
A Paris exhibition provides a rare window onto one of France's most original authors
t.ly
March 26, 2026 at 8:48 AM
The 11th-century Chinese scholar Mi Fu had a habit of bowing before his favourite stone and chanting "Glorious rock, I am your slave." Roger Caillois (1913-1978) thought this was entirely reasonable. My thoughts on the eccentric French polymath and his passion for minerals t.ly/WgbFi
Long before anyone in France had heard of Karl Popper, Roger Caillois dismissed psychoanalysis as a pseudoscience. My latest on one of the most original French writers of the 20th century (piece in French) bit.ly/40yI58l
Caillois, la psychanalyse et les rêves
Roger Caillois, un des écrivains français les plus originaux du XXe siècle, fut un des rares penseurs à récuser frontalement Freud.
bit.ly
March 16, 2026 at 8:58 AM
Long before anyone in France had heard of Karl Popper, Roger Caillois dismissed psychoanalysis as a pseudoscience. My latest on one of the most original French writers of the 20th century (piece in French) bit.ly/40yI58l
Belgium's media ethics council has rebuked an outlet for publishing JD Vance's Munich speech in 2025 verbatim without comment. The ruling: journos have a duty to shield audiences from the VP's words by correcting them first. The Belgian council just made his case for him substack.com/@henriastier...
March 8, 2026 at 10:58 AM
Belgium's media ethics council has rebuked an outlet for publishing JD Vance's Munich speech in 2025 verbatim without comment. The ruling: journos have a duty to shield audiences from the VP's words by correcting them first. The Belgian council just made his case for him substack.com/@henriastier...
Roger Caillois définit sa conception de la poésie par la négative/Caillois, one France's most original 20th-century minds, drew up a list of the 23 things poets should never do (text in French below) medium.com/@henri-astie...
L’art poétique selon Roger Caillois
L’un des esprits français les plus originaux du XXe siècle dit ce qu’un poète ne doit jamais faire.
https://medium.com/@henri-astier/lart-poétique-selon-roger-caillois-2c5a8fa023aa
March 6, 2026 at 1:28 PM
Roger Caillois définit sa conception de la poésie par la négative/Caillois, one France's most original 20th-century minds, drew up a list of the 23 things poets should never do (text in French below) medium.com/@henri-astie...
"There is no crime that cannot be condoned when 'our' side commits it," Orwell noted. He could have written that about the killing of a French nationalist in Lyon. My latest: bit.ly/3MLnYjQ
#Lyon #JeuneGarde #Mélenchon #LFI #antifa #Orwell
#Lyon #JeuneGarde #Mélenchon #LFI #antifa #Orwell
Murder in Lyon: a study in doublethink
Killing people is wrong. Exploiting their death, apparently, is just as bad.
bit.ly
February 20, 2026 at 6:00 PM
"There is no crime that cannot be condoned when 'our' side commits it," Orwell noted. He could have written that about the killing of a French nationalist in Lyon. My latest: bit.ly/3MLnYjQ
#Lyon #JeuneGarde #Mélenchon #LFI #antifa #Orwell
#Lyon #JeuneGarde #Mélenchon #LFI #antifa #Orwell
"Your generosity is infinite. May I abuse it further?" - Jack Lang to Jeffrey Epstein, 2017. The French former minister and the US predator were an ideal match. My latest
henriastier.substack.com/p/epsteins-b...
#JackLang #Epstein #France
henriastier.substack.com/p/epsteins-b...
#JackLang #Epstein #France
Epstein's best French friend
Why the flamboyant former minister Jack Lang and the disgraced financier were made for each other
henriastier.substack.com
February 12, 2026 at 7:46 AM
"Your generosity is infinite. May I abuse it further?" - Jack Lang to Jeffrey Epstein, 2017. The French former minister and the US predator were an ideal match. My latest
henriastier.substack.com/p/epsteins-b...
#JackLang #Epstein #France
henriastier.substack.com/p/epsteins-b...
#JackLang #Epstein #France
Why has the French Revolutionary Terror inspired so few novels, plays, or films? A belated discovery of Bernanos' "Dialogues of the Carmelites" made me realise just how rare such works are.
Some thoughts (in French) t.ly/e8PXo
Some thoughts (in French) t.ly/e8PXo
Dialogues des Carmélites : Les sœurs et le commissaire
Pourquoi Georges Bernanos est un des rares auteurs à avoir mis en scène la Terreur
t.ly
February 6, 2026 at 1:07 PM
Why has the French Revolutionary Terror inspired so few novels, plays, or films? A belated discovery of Bernanos' "Dialogues of the Carmelites" made me realise just how rare such works are.
Some thoughts (in French) t.ly/e8PXo
Some thoughts (in French) t.ly/e8PXo
The film "Hamnet" is full of sound and fury. But what does it signify? My take 👇
henri-astier.medium.com/film-review-...
henri-astier.medium.com/film-review-...
Film review: Hamnet ★★☆☆☆
Much ado about Stratford
henri-astier.medium.com
January 30, 2026 at 5:46 PM
The film "Hamnet" is full of sound and fury. But what does it signify? My take 👇
henri-astier.medium.com/film-review-...
henri-astier.medium.com/film-review-...
US legal issues aside, Roberto Saviano (of Gomorrah fame) sets the record straight on Venezuela: there "criminality does not infiltrate power. The two coincide... [The Venezuelan regime] protects drugs, facilitates their transit, taxes them and uses them as a geopolitical lever." bit.ly/49xgkBd
Roberto Saviano: 'Venezuela is not a narco-state, but a state that uses drugs as an instrument for the survival of those in power'
OP-ED. Western democracies have allowed the regime to survive, enabling it to strengthen itself by becoming increasingly criminalized. Today, Venezuela acts as a hub state, exhibiting advanced forms o...
bit.ly
January 8, 2026 at 10:50 AM
US legal issues aside, Roberto Saviano (of Gomorrah fame) sets the record straight on Venezuela: there "criminality does not infiltrate power. The two coincide... [The Venezuelan regime] protects drugs, facilitates their transit, taxes them and uses them as a geopolitical lever." bit.ly/49xgkBd
My latest Substack post is about the best way for a public broadcaster to lose friends and alienate people henriastier.substack.com/p/how-public... #journalism #media #BBC #radiofrance
How public broadcasters perish
The BBC and its French counterparts face populist assault. Only one has the neutrality to survive it
henriastier.substack.com
January 6, 2026 at 4:26 PM
My latest Substack post is about the best way for a public broadcaster to lose friends and alienate people henriastier.substack.com/p/how-public... #journalism #media #BBC #radiofrance
Pierre Boncenne's illuminating autobiographical essay, Colombiennes, shows what it's like to be Franco-something in a country that doesn't do hyphenation. My review here:
henriastier.substack.com/p/comment-pe... #France #identity
henriastier.substack.com/p/comment-pe... #France #identity
Comment peut-on être français?
A memoir by Pierre Boncenne, a French writer with Colombian ancestry, reveals uncomfortable truths about dual heritage
henriastier.substack.com
November 14, 2025 at 8:59 AM
Pierre Boncenne's illuminating autobiographical essay, Colombiennes, shows what it's like to be Franco-something in a country that doesn't do hyphenation. My review here:
henriastier.substack.com/p/comment-pe... #France #identity
henriastier.substack.com/p/comment-pe... #France #identity
Excellent analysis of Putin's "multipolar" world, which points to the rest of Europe as the decadent enemy. This vision jibes with Trump's anarchic new world order, where everything is up for grabs as big guys cut deals and bully small ones @institutmontaigne.bsky.social bit.ly/49giV3K
Le monde multipolaire de Vladimir Poutine
par Bernard Chappedelaine
bit.ly
October 23, 2025 at 9:03 AM
Excellent analysis of Putin's "multipolar" world, which points to the rest of Europe as the decadent enemy. This vision jibes with Trump's anarchic new world order, where everything is up for grabs as big guys cut deals and bully small ones @institutmontaigne.bsky.social bit.ly/49giV3K
Nicolas Sarkozy is now sitting a cell in Paris - a historic act of accountability, or a troubling sign of judicial overreach?👇
bit.ly/48IPLua
#France #Sarkozy #Justice
bit.ly/48IPLua
#France #Sarkozy #Justice
From Élysée Palace to prison
The jailing of Nicolas Sarkozy marks a watershed in French democracy, but is this really justice?
bit.ly
October 22, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Nicolas Sarkozy is now sitting a cell in Paris - a historic act of accountability, or a troubling sign of judicial overreach?👇
bit.ly/48IPLua
#France #Sarkozy #Justice
bit.ly/48IPLua
#France #Sarkozy #Justice
Experimental works by Turner are on show at a Sussex grand house he often visited. My latest travelogue: travelingue.substack.com/p/turners-un...
#Turner #BritishArt @nationaltrust.org.uk
#Turner #BritishArt @nationaltrust.org.uk
Turner's unvarnished masterpieces
An exhibition of sketches and studies shows the artist's raw genius
travelingue.substack.com
October 20, 2025 at 8:38 AM
Experimental works by Turner are on show at a Sussex grand house he often visited. My latest travelogue: travelingue.substack.com/p/turners-un...
#Turner #BritishArt @nationaltrust.org.uk
#Turner #BritishArt @nationaltrust.org.uk
A president tasks the same PM with the same impossible job. How might it turn out? My take on Macron's endgame: henriastier.substack.com/p/macron-a-p...
Macron - a presidential tragedy
How a bold centrist project left illiberal radicals poised to take power
henriastier.substack.com
October 13, 2025 at 11:01 AM
A president tasks the same PM with the same impossible job. How might it turn out? My take on Macron's endgame: henriastier.substack.com/p/macron-a-p...
Reposted by Henri Astier
“‘…[the Nobel Peace Prize] is the ‘Lay Down Your Arms Prize’, its most distinctive content…can be summed up in one word: disarmament’.” #thisweekthosebooks via @medium.com
medium.com/this-week-th...
medium.com/this-week-th...
October 12, 2025 at 9:10 PM
“‘…[the Nobel Peace Prize] is the ‘Lay Down Your Arms Prize’, its most distinctive content…can be summed up in one word: disarmament’.” #thisweekthosebooks via @medium.com
medium.com/this-week-th...
medium.com/this-week-th...
Macron gets blamed for France's political chaos. But as I explain in @americanpurpose.bsky.social, that's mostly unfair - and misses the deeper problem www.persuasion.community/p/the-end-of... #Macron #Lecornu #CrisePolitique
The End of Macronisme
Relentless instability is destroying France’s center.
www.persuasion.community
October 9, 2025 at 4:48 PM
Macron gets blamed for France's political chaos. But as I explain in @americanpurpose.bsky.social, that's mostly unfair - and misses the deeper problem www.persuasion.community/p/the-end-of... #Macron #Lecornu #CrisePolitique
... especially the man who finds quotes for the @economist.com
September 29, 2025 at 8:29 AM
... especially the man who finds quotes for the @economist.com
On the strange fascination of a post-modern populist with Old England... Some cogent observations by Rashmee
Trump’s reality state visit to Big Brother house in England, England www.rashmee.com/trumps-reali...
Trump’s reality state visit to Big Brother house in England, England | Rashmee Roshan Lall
Donald Trump’s second state visit to Britain brings to mind a classier reality television than the world is used to. The pomp and ceremony in and around Windsor Castle seemed like a closed set with ca...
www.rashmee.com
September 18, 2025 at 11:59 AM
On the strange fascination of a post-modern populist with Old England... Some cogent observations by Rashmee