Philosopher Chantal Delsol, in an interview with Le Figaro, draws parallels between Europe's current migration situation and the collapse of the Roman Empire at the turn of the 4th and 5th centuries. In her new book 'The Migratory Tragedy and the Fall of Empires' published by Odile Jacob, she warns against a 'civilizational erasure' and calls to rediscover the lessons of Saint Augustine.
Chantal Delsol, a French philosopher, publishes 'The Migratory Tragedy and the Fall of Empires' (Odile Jacob), a book that draws an analogy between the era of Saint Augustine and our own. In a major interview with Le Figaro, she describes these two moments as 'epochs' of profound historical rupture, in the sense of Charles Péguy, where an old paradigm collapses.
According to Delsol, it involves the downfall of an empire centuries old: first colonial, then cultural, crumbling like an unstable pyramid. In Augustine's time, in the 4th-5th century, Rome, accustomed to conquering the world, was invaded by barbarian armies that penetrated imperial territories without effective resistance. The effect is 'stunning', she notes.
Faced with this 'civilizational erasure' linked to current migrations, the philosopher invites us to draw from Saint Augustine's teachings for our time. The interview highlights these perilous periods where a void opens, uncertain of what will emerge.