https://pjmedia.com/rogerlsimon/2005/11/07/the-france-of-the-mind-goes-up-in-smoke/feed/PJ Media is a leading news site covering culture, politics, faith, homeland security, and more. Our reporters and columnists provide original, in-depth analysis from a variety of perspectives.en-usWed, 10 Jun 2026 16:16:15 -0400<![CDATA[I grew up with the most romantic view of France &#8211; Sartre, Piaf, Jean Renoir, the Resistance. Then it was Truffaut, Godard, Serge Gainsbourg. (My mother had gone to school there.) They were superior to us. The place to go. The place for a writer to be ratified (like Ernest and Scott) as a person of substance. I was most proud of myself when my first books were translated into French by Editions Alta (a company now defunct) and profiled in a magazine called Polar (also now defunct, I believe). Quel orgeuil.]]>Mon, 07 Nov 2005 04:38:05 -0500<![CDATA[Roger L. Simon]]>https://pjmedia.com/roger-l-simon/2005/11/07/the-france-of-the-mind-goes-up-in-smoke-n210296