USP – Conférence : "Jean Giono, romancier de la nature ou précurseur écologique ?"

Jean Giono (1895-1970) is now considered a pioneer of environmentalism, as evidenced by the success of *The Man Who Planted Trees* . Nature is a powerful presence in his work, from *Hill* to *Battles in the Mountains*. More than just a backdrop, it is a force, a power with which humankind must contend. In his essays from the 30s, such as *True Riches* and * Letter to the Peasants on Poverty and Peace* , he combines pacifism, a critique of industrial civilization, and praise for rural life. So, was Jean Giono simply a writer committed to environmental protection? Isn't his complex relationship with the natural world that of a creator, novelist, and poet, rather than that of a thinker?

Jean-Yves LAURICHESSE is an emeritus professor of French literature at the University of Toulouse-Jean Jaurès.

His research focuses on Jean Giono, Claude Simon, and contemporary literature ( Lignes de terre: écrire le monde rural aujourd'hui , 2020).

On Giono, he published Giono and Stendhal: paths of reading and creation (1994), co-edited the Giono Dictionary (2016), and he is editor-in-chief of the Revue Giono (Association of Friends of Jean Giono).

He is also a writer, author of about ten novels and stories, including The Red Wedding according to Bruegel (Ateliers Henry Dougier, 2022), The First Realities (La Guêpine, 2023) and The Destiny of a Poet (Le Temps qu'il fait, 2025).