"What did French intellectuals have to say about Gaullism, the Cold War, colonialism, the women's movements, and the events of May 1968? David Drake examines the political commitment of intellectuals in France from Sartre and Camus to Bernard-Henri Levy and Bourdieu. In this accessible study, he explores why there was a radical reassessment of the intellectual's role in the mid-1970s - 80s and how a new generation engages with Islam, racism, the Balkan wars and the strikes of 1995."--BOOK JACKET.