29Received 02.12.2025. Revised 09.02.2026. Accepted 03.04.2026.
Abstract. This article examines how France’s intellectual elite, its composition and profile, and its interactions with society have changed over the past six decades (from the 1960s to the first quarter of the 21st century). It analyzes the segment of the French intellectual elite that emerged under the influence of leftist and radical leftist ideas. Three periods are distinguished: the “Revolutionary Decade” (1960s – first half of the 1970s); “Lost Illusions” (1970s–1990s); “Facing the Challenges of Fragmentation and Radicalization of Society” (first quarter of the 21st century). The role and place of intellectuals in the socio-political life of France were transformed depending on the problems faced by society. In the 1960s and 1970s, French society craved change and believed in progress. In its quest for renewal, it turned to intellectuals. In the 1980s and 1990s, the politicization of parts of the intellectual community and the radical ideas promoted by its representatives alienated society from intellectuals, and some members of this world – from politics. It is shown that over the past decades there has been a shift from “universal intellectuals”, creators of grand narratives who acted as “public conscience” and role models, to “specialist intellectuals” working in a specific field and not seeking to act as bearers of universal knowledge. Among them are economists, philosophers, sociologists, and historians. Economists Th. Piketty and G. Zucman are interested in the economic indicators of inequality and ways to overcome it. Geographer Ch. Guilluy studies socio-spatial changes, and sociologist G. Fourquet explores the connection between citizens’ voting behavior and social cleavages. Social philosopher M. Gauchet focuses on profound social changes and the associated political processes, while anthropologist and historian E. Todd identifies the specific social and emotional state of contemporary French society. Unlike the ruling elite, the intellectual elite lacks the ability to control and make political decisions. Nevertheless, its representatives perform a vital function: educating society and the political elite. They influence policy indirectly: thanks to the latest scientific research, political party platforms are updated, and new topics are introduced into the general political discourse. The resources available to representatives of the intellectual community and the communication channels they use influence are analyzed.
Keywords: student protest, France, cultural revolution, “universal intellectuals”, “specialist intellectuals”, power, conflict, social novel, Jean-Paul Sartre, Albert Camus, Gabriel Zucman, Thomas Piketty, Jérôme Fourquet, Marcel Gauchet
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