France is absolutely messed up, y'all.

Learned a lot here. As someone who is usually only up to date on North American politics, I found the current state of France very interesting. Lots of thought provoking solutions presented here.

More a why-should than a how-to. Author Ramdani goes through the laundry list of increasing right-wing populist horrors that the country's indulging its worst self by celebrating. She shares her very low opinion of the pantouflard Macron. She cites her own experiences and journalism, she sources a lot, but not all, her asseverations about the French Fifth Republic in her "Notes" section. A lot of "everybody knows"ism is present; the right-wing's angry voices are referred to as "{like} Presidents, they are almost always white males" and then in the next sentence, she says "{s}tated facts are scant"! Accusing your enemy of your own sin. Marine Le Pen's public schism from her Nazi-collabortating anti-semite father is treated as political theater without linking to or performing substantive analyses demonatrating it as such, for another example. This is probably true but you're writing a book advocating the disestablishment of the Fifth Republic in it sixty-fifth year, when it's one of the cornerstones of the EU and multiple supranational alliances. You need to go the extra mile with such a proposition.

I'm aware of flaws and inconsistencies in a book, in general, I agree with. I'm aware also of the genuine value proposition the book represents. Most US readers are not aware of how very new France's current government is; they have the same illusion of ancient permanence about their own. No structure of government is, or should be, permanent; that illusion is perpetuated by those who despise and fear We-The-People, because the idea of changing governments is threatening to their control of society's attention.

So, in my opinion, read this book to follow the author's poiting finger, and attend to her argument's substance, not sources. These could be more complete. The argument for a better, more just, more inclusive France, however, is in and of itself convincing and deserves close and attentive reading here in the US.

A quick and interesting read.. Fixing France reads more as an exposé than a clear cut plan for how to fix the country. Ramdani at times becomes bogged down in detailing the faults and failures of the French system. But she is able to then move the narrative along with the way she skillfully divides the book into chapters that cover the specific topic areas she addresses.

Ms. Ramdani was a "Red diaper" baby who claims in the first half of "Fixing France" that she is a radical socialist and in the second half she admits that she is a neo-Marxist. Given this, her book is sharply slanted but it is still worth reading if you wish to fully understand far left thinking in France. "Fixing France" is a mix of French history and politics and it especially targets Mr. Macron. Ms. Ramdani is especially critical of the French Algerian war of independence, and this is in part due to the author's Algerian roots. The author wants to dissolve France's Fifth Republic and replace it with a communist Sixth Republic, but the truth is that France is moving rightward and toward greater populism which Ms. Ramdani severely castigates. Finally, it is difficult to tell who the author hates more President Macron or right-wing leader Marie Le Pen.