BIANCAMARIA FONTANA on living with France's past

Help us produce more episodes by supporting the Napoleonic Quarterly on Patreon: patreon.com/napoleonicquarterly Professor Emeritus Biancamaria Fontana of the University of Lausanne has written about French politics and political thought for many years and is a formidable thinker on the merits of federalism,  and, in particular, the work of figures like Montaigne and Constant. She is writing a book about the Directory, which triggered this conversation - but we also touched on Napoleon Bonaparte's government and the way contemporary politicians - especially Emmanuel Macron - address this period of French history.  'Germaine de Stael: A Political Portrait' is available here.  This interview was recorded in late 2021.