Laurent Obertone

Laurent Obertone (French pronunciation: [lɔʁɑ̃ ɔbɛʁtɔn]; born 10 April 1984) is a French writer and journalist. He has written a series of polemical books which some French media describe as reactionary. His first book, La France Orange mécanique [fr], became a bestseller in 2013. He is known for his novel trilogy Guérilla (2016–2022), which is about civil war in France.

The name Laurent Obertone is a pseudonym which the author began to use in 2010 when he wrote for the online magazine Ring.^[1] The same year, the novelist Michel Houellebecq created media reactions by bringing Obertone to a dinner with President Nicolas Sarkozy at the Élysée Palace, following Houellebecq's Prix Goncourt win for The Map and the Territory.^[2] Obertone received more attention in 2013 when his own book La France Orange mécanique [fr] (transl. The Clockwork Orange France) became a bestseller. The book is about increasing violence in France, which Obertone links to immigration and calls "the wildening" (French: l'ensauvagement) of the country.^[1] It was followed by several polemical books, including 2015's La France Big Brother [de] (transl. The Big Brother France), a critical analysis of how France is ruled which L'Express described as "reactionary" and "sexist".^[3]

Obertone's writings have made an impact on France's far right,^[4][1][5][6] mainstream right,^[7][8][9] and a few government ministers in the cabinets of Édouard Philippe and Jean Castex.^[10][11]

Obertone has written a trilogy of novels called Guérilla (2016–2022), which is about how civil war breaks out in France, spurred on by social media and mainstream journalists. The novels became bestsellers.^[12]

Together with Papacito [fr], Marsault [fr] and Laura Magné, he co-founded the quarterly satire magazine La Furia. The first issue was published in January 2022 and sold 60,000 copies.^[13]

• La France Orange mécanique [fr], Paris, Éditions Ring, 2013, ISBN 979-10-91447-03-4
• Utøya [fr], Paris, Éditions Ring, 2013, ISBN 978-1-09-144708-0^[14]
• La France Big Brother [fr], Paris, Éditions Ring, 2015, ISBN 979-10-95776-01-7
• Le Diable du ciel, Paris, Éditions Ring, 2017, ISBN 979-10-91447-68-3
• La France interdite [fr], Paris, Éditions Ring, 2018, ISBN 9791091447812
• Éloge de la force : Renverser l'histoire, Paris, Éditions Ring, 2020
• Game Over: La révolution antipolitique, Paris, Éditions Magnus, 2022, ISBN 978-2-38422-000-7

• Guérilla [fr], Paris, Éditions Ring, 2016, ISBN 979-10-91447-49-2
• Guérilla : Le temps des barbares, Paris, Éditions Ring, 2019^[15]
• Guérilla : le dernier combat, Éditions Magnus, 2022, ISBN 978-2384220083