2023-07-31 04:24:00
A priori, the exercise seems to amuse Valérie Glatigny, who recently resigned from her functions as Minister of Higher Education for medical reasons *. Then she thinks… “The book that changed my life, that marked me the most… But emotionally or intellectually?” Holder of a master’s degree and an aggregation in philosophy, she has also completed additional studies in biomedical ethics. The minister internally weighs the pros and cons. “I’ve read a lot of philosophers and some have influenced me more than others,” she finally says. In the area of ethics in particular. And everything related to the analysis of animal behavior, a continent still unknown…”
She seems to have made up her mind and opts for Facing animals, our emotions, our prejudices, our ambivalences by French psychologist Laurent Bègue-Shankland. In this book, it is about a fish of 53 centimeters… A team responsible for administering drugs to him that make him suffer, but not for real. It’s an experiment like Milgram’s, to see how far they can give up their values and submit to cruel authority.
George Orwell’s “1984” is Sammy Mahdi’s compass: “I’ve read it more than ten times”
“All that I know, what I am, was revealed there”
Values. Looks like the word hits the nail on the head. Finally, the minister changed her mind. “No, in fact, the most important book for me is not that one.” Surprisingly, she then brandishes a “Chanteloup”. “Sorry, it’s not mine. This one is carefully stored in the family home, too far away for me to pick it up today. My Chanteloup, I know exactly where he is, he has accompanied me all my life, since I was little, and still today.”
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It represents a very important period of my life. Everything I know, who I am, came to light in the Cubs.
For those who don’t know, the “Chanteloup” is a large collection of songs intended for Cub Scouts. Almost two hundred pages of “One day the troop camped, a, a, a”, “There’s only one hair”, “Vlà l’bon vent” or other “Marchand Petrouchka”. Seriously ? But where is Valérie Glatigny taking us?
“My book is annotated with messages of friendship, guitar chords and memories that give me strength. It represents a very important period of my life. Everything I know, who I am, came to light in the Cubs.” First wolf cub from 5 or 6 years old, the little girl then went to the guides before starting as cub leader until 22 or 23 years old. “It took a big place in my life for a long time, she says. Then, I also did many stewardships.” Always with his precious “Chanteloup”.
“When I take it, all that time comes back to me”
“I would say this book has become like a talisman. When I take it, it’s all this time that comes back to me first. The first separations, away from home. When we learn autonomy without the family. Singing all together, this feeling of belonging to a group, it helped me a lot to express myself.” In the dark, around the fire, no one recognizes anyone. It gives courage if you are a little afraid to express yourself.
Valérie Glatigny still likes to sing the songs included in her collection. ©camiere ennio
Where the story gets funny is when Valérie Glatigny admits without any embarrassment that she sings completely out of tune! A book of songs put forward by someone who “sings like a saucepan” (sic), it’s not common… “Yes, precisely, she retorts. In the group, judgments disappeared. Each and everyone could find their place according to their strengths. And the weaknesses were rather funny, in this benevolent climate.”
So we imagine “Zygène, Bon pied bon œil” (his totem – it’s a red butterfly – and his qualifier), singing at the top of his voice at the wake and even risking a few guitar chords, for years. “I was bad at lashing and cooking, but very good at organizing myself, finding solutions to a problem, reacting well in the event of an accident, reading a map. It was there that I learned everything about myself.”
“Without hesitation, Stewball by Hugues Aufray”
Do not believe that the “Chanteloup” Valérie Glatigny sinks a well-deserved retirement. “After the youth movement, it was also part of my family life. I have two brothers and three nephews and niece. Every year we go on vacation together. And my book is still there.” Because the singing evenings remain on the program, “even if the teenagers are starting to find it a bit old-fashioned”.
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In the group, judgments disappeared. Each and everyone could find their place according to their strengths and weaknesses.
Loaded with family memories grafted onto those of the first freedoms, this big book is part of “what matters to me”. With perhaps a song, an author in particular? “Without hesitation, Stewball by Hugues Aufray.” And nothing to do with his interest in animals. “This song is especially difficult for someone who sings as badly as me. At camp, I was known as the one whose voice absolutely had to be masked when we started to sing it. Later, my brothers did the same. They carried me away, parodied me. These are all great memories.”
A fetish book where you can recharge your batteries when the elements get a little wild.
* This interview was conducted two days before we learned of the Minister’s intention to resign.
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