“The violence of such a decision left us speechless”, deplore Thierry Magnier editions. According to the Ministry of the Interior, Manu Causse’s book Far too small contains “many very explicit scenes”. The prohibition order was signed on July 17 by Gerald Darmanin. Published in the Official Journal, it specifies: “It is forbidden to offer, give or sell to minors the publication entitled Bien trop petit by Manu Causse published by the publishing house Thierry Magnier.” The publisher learned the news from a journalist who contacted him. While complying with the decision, out of “respect for the law”, he denounces, on France Info, a “dangerous and hypocritical censorship”, as well as a “danger for freedom of expression and democracy”
In Far Too Small, the protagonist is a teenager complexed by the size of his sex. After being teased by a high school student, he takes refuge in writing. “After this trauma, he rebuilt a sexual imagination by writing knight stories, which gave rise to passages of pornography a little low on the forehead, infantile, specifies Thierry Magnier to our colleagues. But the hero then exchanges with a character who helps him to question and deconstruct this masculinist, almost toxic universe, and he gradually builds a new relationship with sexuality. The book was published in the L’Ardeur collection, which brings together “literary works that talk about sexuality, desire, fantasy, that ask questions about the body, gender, all these important topics for adolescents, without gritty details.”
Ten works belong to this collection, among which, none has been forbidden to minors before. The author Manu Causse has already published Le Point sublime there. “It had not been censored yet there are explicit sex scenes, and beautiful ones, I hope”, he reports to France Info, while adding that he finds the banning of his latest book “brutal and shocking”.
Thierry Magnier was notified of the decree against Far too small at the end of January by a letter of notification from the commission for the supervision and control of publications for young people. A contradictory procedure followed during which he provided certain justifications. In a statement published on July 19, he referred to a book “which explores questions of the body and sexuality in its own way”. “But since it presents explicit scenes, we took care to include on the back cover a mention addressing this book to an informed readership, from 15 years old”, he specifies. Despite these arguments, the Ministry of the Interior decided otherwise. The authorities relied on the law of July 16, 1949, relating to publications intended for young people, which provides: “In particular in its article 2 that publications intended for young people must not contain any content of a pornographic nature”. The text provides for a one-year prison sentence and a fine of 3,750 euros.
As soon as the ban was published, Far Too Small was withdrawn from sale. The book, published in 2022, was printed in 2,500 copies, of which 500 have passed. Thierry Magnier affirms on France Info “to have asked all the bookstores to return their copies to him, and adds to respect the law so that we do not accuse him more”. “Today the government does not block pornographic sites to minors, who are millions to consult them and it prohibits a literary work like ours. And this, while any 15-year-old child can buy Lolita (Vladimir Nabokov) or Sade,” he adds. Manu Causse is also surprised by the sanctions against his book and declares that “some mangas offer rape scenes without being censored. As a father, I prefer my children to read books like mine, intended for teens, rather than other content that is harder to grasp, or that conveys clichés of rape culture.
The ban on Far Too Small challenged many authors and publishers on Instagram. Nicolas Mathieu, Prix Goncourt 2018, said on his account: “We imagine that this gesture took place under the influence of some reactionary pressure body, such as families with headbands and other associations in Bermuda (…). At 15, we love and desire like crazy. Literature has something to say about these states. The fact of allowing the emergence of texts which irrigate this libido and accompany it can in no way be confused with an abuse. The protection of minors, which is obviously necessary, cannot sink into this kind of foolish and opportunistic puritanism”.
Various professionals in children’s literature are worried about the decision. The director of the youth and comics departments of Albin Michel, Marion Jablonksi, wonders about Actualitté: “In principle, it is a decision of the highest point of concern. Should literature pretend to ignore that youth awakens to sexuality before the age of 18?” Thierry Magnier intends to offer again for sale Far too small, as the law authorizes, for adults this time.
