The Prix Combourg-Chateaubriand is a French literary award created in 1998 by Hervé Louboutin and Sonia de La Tour du Pin. It is awarded by the Académie Chateaubriand, under the presidency of Philippe de Saint Robert since 1999, in memory of the writer

François-René de Chateaubriand François-René, vicomte de Chateaubriand (4 September 1768 – 4 July 1848) was a French writer, politician, diplomat and historian who influenced French literature of the nineteenth century. Descended from an old aristocratic family from Bri ...

. The award ceremony takes place at the Château de Combourg in

Ille-et-Vilaine Ille-et-Vilaine (; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Ill-e-Vilaenn'', ) is a departments of France, department of France, located in the regions of France, region of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in the northwest of the country. It is named a ...

, where Chateaubriand lived during a part of his youth.

Laureates

* 1998: Philippe de Saint Robert for ''Le Secret des jours'' * 1999: Philippe Barthelet for ''Saint Bernard'' * 2000: Gérard Leclerc for ''L'Amour en morceaux ?'' * 2001: Jean d'Ormesson for ''Voyez comme on danse'' * 2003:

Régis Debray Jules Régis Debray (; born 2 September 1940) is a French philosopher, journalist, former government official and academic. He is known for his theorization of mediology, a critical theory of the long-term transmission of cultural meaning in ...

for ''God: An Itinerary'' (''Dieu : un itinéraire'') * 2004: Marc Fumaroli for ''Chateaubriand, poésie et terreur'' * 2005: Jean-Christian Petitfils for ''Louis XVI'' * 2006: Francis Huré for ''Portraits de Pechkoff'' * 2007: Jean-Maurice de Montremy for ''Rancé, le soleil noir'' * 2008:

Jean Raspail Jean Raspail (, 5 July 1925 – 13 June 2020) was a French explorer, novelist, and travel writer. Many of his books are about historical figures, exploration and indigenous peoples. He was a recipient of the prestigious French literary awards Gra ...

for his entire oeuvre * 2009:

Michel David-Weill Michel David-Weill (November 23, 1932 – June 16, 2022) was a French investment banker and chairman of Lazard and Eurazeo. Early life Michel David-Weill was born into a Jewish family on November 23, 1932. His father, Pierre David-Weill (1900� ...

for ''L'esprit en fête'' * 2010: Marguerite Castillon du Perron for ''Montalembert et l'Europe de son temps'' * 2011: Christophe Barbier for ''Les Derniers Jours de François Mitterrand'' * 2012: Reynald Secher for ''A French Genocide: The Vendée'' (''Le Génocide franco-français : La Vendée-Vengé'') * 2013: Jean-Marie Rouart for ''Napoléon ou la Destinée'' * 2014:

Alain Finkielkraut Alain Luc Finkielkraut (; ; born 30 June 1949) is a French essayist, radio producer, and public intellectual. Since 1986, he has been the host of ''Répliques'', a talk show broadcast weekly on France Culture. He was elected a Fellow of the Ac ...

for ''L'Identité malheureuse'' * 2015:

Éric Zemmour Éric Justin Léon Zemmour (; born 31 August 1958) is a French History of far-right movements in France, far-right politician, essayist, writer and political journalist and pundit. He was an editor and panelist on ''Face à l'Info'', a daily show ...

for '' The French Suicide'' (''Le Suicide français'') * 2016: François Sureau for ''Je ne pense plus voyager'' * 2017: Emmanuel de Waresquiel for ''Juger la Reine'' * 2018:

Philippe de Villiers Philippe Marie Jean Joseph Le Jolis de Villiers de Saintignon, known as Philippe de Villiers (; born 25 March 1949), is a French entrepreneur, politician and novelist.Michel de Grèce for ''Avec ou sans couronne'' * 2022: Lætitia De Witt for '' L’Aiglon. Le rêve brisé de

Napoléon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led a series of mi ...

''. * 2023:

Emmanuel Godo Immanuel or Emmanuel (, "God swith us"; Koine Greek: ) is a Hebrew name that appears in the Book of Isaiah (7:14) as a sign that God will protect the House of David. The Gospel of Matthew ( Matthew 1:22 –23) interprets this as a prophecy of ...

for ''

Maurice Barrès Auguste-Maurice Barrès (; 19 August 1862 – 4 December 1923) was a French novelist, journalist, philosopher, and politician. Spending some time in Italy, he became a figure in French literature with the release of his work ''The Cult of the S ...

: le grand inconnu.''

Controversy

The Departmental Council of

sponsors the award with 600 euros annually. When the prize went to essayist

in 2015, the local

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...

leader, Jean-Luc Chenut, protested against the jury's decision and blocked the transaction. Sonia de La Tour du Pin, co-founder of the prize, dismissed Chenut's reaction as "sectarian".

References

External links

Official website
{{François-René de Chateaubriand Awards established in 1998 French literary awards Ille-et-Vilaine 1998 establishments in France François-René de Chateaubriand