French essayist Richard Millet has been under siege lately for a new piece of work that discusses the acts of Norwegian mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik. He describes them as “formal perfection … in their literary dimension.” The essay, “Éloge Littéraire d’Anders Breivik” (Literary Elegy of Anders Breivik), makes a note that Millet does not agree with the murders committed by Breivik on July 22, 2011 that took the lives of 77 people. In the essay, Millet does say that the massacre was “without doubt what Norway deserved.” Millet says that the reasons for the massacre include the fact that Norway permitted domination of foreign customs, religion and language; allowed immigration and multiculturalism.
“Multiculturalism, as it has been imported from the United States, is the worst thing possible for Europe … and creates a mosaic of ghettoes in which the [host] nation no longer exists,” Millet said in an interview with France Info radio on August 27. “Breivik, I believe, perceived that and responded to that question with the most monstrous reply.”
The essay was published on August 24, when Breivik was being sentenced. In the essay, which is part of a series of essays published with the title of Langue Fantôme (Ghost Language), says, “Within this decadence, Breivik is without doubt what Norway deserved, and what awaits our societies that won’t stop blinding themselves in denial. European nations are dissolving socially at the same time as they’re losing their Christian essence in favor of general relativism.”
During the interview with France Info radio, Millet said, “I’m one of the most hated French authors. It’s an interesting position that makes me an exceptional being.”
