Night in Prague 1981–1982 337
the Ambassador replied with aplomb that the circulation of
illicit substances in French universities, with the complicity of
teachers, was widely known, and his country was justifi ed in
suppressing this traffi c! I interrupted him: ‘Do you know who
Professor Derrida is? Professor Derrida is an austere man,
who enjoys the highest of reputations in all academic circles in
France and abroad, and you won’t fi nd anyone who will believe
such an accusation for a single second.’ I remember using the
word ‘austere’ while wondering in petto whether the concept
of austerity would be validated by the philosopher himself,
but I was using the language that I deemed the most appropri-
ate when faced with a representative of the Communist moral
order... And while I was speaking, I saw the Ambassador,
who was taking notes, write this word, ‘austere’, in a little note-
book. I continued: ‘I am myself a pupil of Professor Derrida’s,
and I can mention a number of his former students, class-
mates, or friends, who have passed through the École Normale
Supérieure in the rue d’Ulm and now occupy high positions,
starting with Régis Debray, adviser to the President.. .’ At the
end of the interview, though the Ambassador was still keeping
up the same language, the expression on his face had changed,
and I imagine that he was starting to wonder seriously what he
had got himself involved in. There’s no doubt that in Prague,
on the other hand, the authorities knew what they were doing,
and were testing our reactions.^9In reality, the Czech services had not been fully aware of Derrida’s
celebrity. The storm of protest that broke out in a few hours, in the
media, the ministries, and even at the Élysée, made them realize
their blunder. In the evening, Gustáv Husák was informed that
France was demanding the immediate liberation of the philosopher.
Neither Prague nor Moscow wanted an open crisis with France; the
Czech president had no other solution than to comply.
On the night of 31 December–1 January, the police who had arrested
Derrida the day before came to release him, this time deferentially.
As Kafka had been frequently mentioned during the previous day’s
questioning – Derrida, who was writing the paper ‘Before the law’
for the Lyotard conference, had been to Kafka’s tomb during his
stay in Prague – the lawyer told him, ‘in an aside: “You must have
the impression of living in a Kafka story.” And then later: “Don’t
take things too tragically; consider it a literary experience.” I
responded that I did take it tragically, but fi rst of all for him – or for
them, I don’t remember exactly.’^10
Exhausted, Derrida arrived at the French embassy just as the
decorations for the New Year’s Day reception were being taken