In an open letter posted on his Facebook page Tuesday, French filmmaker Michel Hazanavicius, best known in America for directing The Artist, promised ISIS that Friday’s attacks in Paris would not affect the nation’s joyful hedonism. “You must know that you’re not about to defeat us,†he wrote, in a message translated by THR. “It’s even impossible. Because whatever you do, you will not change us.†As the director, famous at home for his ribald satire, explained: “Here in France, what we love is life. And the pleasures that go with it. For us, between being born and dying as late as possible, the main idea is to fuck, laugh, eat, play, fuck, drink, read, take a nap, fuck, talk, eat, argue, paint, fuck, take a walk, do some gardening, read, fuck, give, fuck, sleep, watch movies, scratch our balls, fart to make our friends laugh, but above all to fuck, and eventually get a nice little handjob.â€
Still, though, Hazanavicius cautioned against too much triumphalism. Seeing the rise of anti-refugee sentiment in the wake of the attacks, the director noted, “we will not win either.†He predicted an unhappy future for Europe politically: “People will die for nothing. Others will decide to back [right-wing leader Marine] Le Pen, Assad or Putin to get rid of you, and we may lose two times over because of that.†Still, though, Hazanavicius said the French spirit would endure: “You will not win. And those who remain will continue to fuck, to drink, to have dinner together, to remember those who have died, and to fuck.â€
Read Hazanavicius’s Facebook post here. (It’s in French.)