Overview
- Sansal was formally received Saturday in Brussels at the Royal Academy of French Language and Literature of Belgium, a distinction he said gives him strength after a year in an Algerian prison.
- He said on French TV that he intends to leave France within months, citing attacks on his freedom of expression, and he mentioned Belgium or Switzerland while continuing medical treatment in the Paris region.
- His move last month from longtime publisher Gallimard to Grasset coincided with CEO Olivier Nora’s exit, which many authors called a dismissal by Hachette shareholder Vincent Bolloré and used to press for a journalist‑style conscience clause in publishing.
- Sansal rejected any political tie to Bolloré, saying he has never met him and calling efforts to link them a campaign to discredit him.
- Grasset set June 2 for La Légende, his book recounting detention, signaling his public return to print as controversy over his new publisher continues.