This is for anyone who thinks that political correctness is an English-speaking phenomenon.
The cartoon exploits of Astérix may be enjoyed by millions of children around the world, but the ancient Gaulish hero has just been declared unfit to be official ambassador for children's rights. He is too French, too violent, he perpetuates stereotypes and his outlook conflicts with the spirit of the European Union.
That, at least, is the view of the French branch of Defence for Children International (DCI). Astérix and his fat friend Obélix ran into trouble after Dominique Versini, the state Children's Defender adopted them to promote the United Nations convention on the Rights of Children. Albert Uderzo, the 80-year-old co-creator of Astérix produced an online album and devoted the proceeds of his birthday tribute album this year to the children's cause.
The DCI organisation says that Astérix conveys an "archaic...hierarchical" world at odds with the "revolutionary" values of the 1989 convention. This stresses the child's existence as a being with rights while children in Astérix are fragile objects that need to be protected, said Jean-Pierre Rosenczveig, a senior juvenile judge who heads the French DCI.
Btw, IIUC, this guy is the chief judge at the Bobigny juvenile court, at the heart of the "diverse" Seine-Saint-Denis; not only is the Bobigny court famous for its laxism and left-leaning, and for the various scandals that have emerged recently, but a french mag published a long article about the daily life there, and it was like a scene out of Mad Max 1, with civilized society crumbling down, and judges and court workers terrified by the accused and their families/posse, people urinating in the stairs, omnipresent fears of being assaulted or having his car torched,...
Astérix also projects "a Gaulish vision which ignores the intercultural reality of French society," they say. His constant resistance against the Romans and other foreign invaders sends altogether the wrong message in the peace-loving European Union.
"You shall be assimilated!"
In a 19-point list, the organisation lists the other negative ideas that Astérix projects. "The universe of Astérix and Obélix, two characters devoid of parents, spouses or children, makes few references to family relationships and these are most often reduced to conjugal relations and stereotype representations," it says. There was no room for "gangs of trouble-making and challenging children," it said.
It congratulated Obélix for tackling the problem of obesity but faulted the cartoon for failing to deal with unsanitary housing. The child defenders are also upset that Astérix delivers "a eulogy to tribal, hierarchical, society with frequent references to a chief." The right to education is sadly depicted by a woman school-teacher telling pupils: "Get into rows in silence please," adds the DCI.
Versini, a former junior minister who was appointed by President Chirac last year, called the fuss "a storm in a teacup". "We thought that the adventures of Astérix would enable us to speak to children about their rights with humour and tenderness," she told Le Monde. Her campaign continues over the objections of the rights organisation.
They used to split French cartoon fans into two camps: Astérix and Tintin. If you loved one, you didn't go for the other. I have always been a Tintinophile. The world of the late Hergé's boy reporter is far richer and deeper than the antics of Astérix (more on that later). After the death in 1977 of René Goscinny, the brilliant story writer, the Uderzo-only Astérix lost its satirical side and has since played to sentiment. Behind their jargon, his detractors at the Défense des Enfants International just seem to be annoyed by the wholesome childish flavour of this Astérix world.