French intellectual and former presidential advisor Jacques Attali has published a new book examining the concept of “la niaque”—a regional French term denoting mental energy, stubborn resilience, and an inner drive to reject failure.
Defining La Niaque and Overcoming Intelligence Determinism
According to Attali, la niaque functions as an internal tenacity that drives individuals to reject a simple “no” and continuously seek improvement. Tracing the concept back through various cultures, he notes that Japanese terminology utilizes over ten distinct words to capture similar facets of human willpower. Rather than relying on genetic luck or high intelligence quotients—metrics he dismisses as largely unhelpful—Attali emphasizes that individuals achieve breakthroughs by finding satisfaction in repetitive, initially arduous tasks that yield marginal gains.
The author illustrates this dynamic through personal history, recalling how an adolescent fear of an uninteresting professional trajectory prompted a local teacher to assign him ten exercises instead of three. Discovering tangible progress through that expanded effort transformed his approach to discipline. He notes that maintaining this mental energy requires a foundation of physical health, noting that adequate sleep, daily walking, gymnastics, and proper nutrition protect against burnout while extreme heat and poor conditioning diminish stamina.
Gender Dynamics and Institutional Failures in Education
Examining demographic variations in drive, Attali points to what he identifies as female hypervigilance, wherein women display heightened capacities to anticipate risks, calculate multiple moves ahead, and establish protective coalitions rather than relying purely on individualistic or narcissistic approaches. He argues that educational systems fail to foster these collective strengths adequately, missing opportunities to teach children how to derive pleasure directly from incremental progress.
Attali extends this critique to contemporary technology, observing that while standard social media platforms degrade concentration spans through instant gratification, video games offer structured environments for resilience. However, he cautions that gaming drive remains trapped in a closed circuit unless players learn to channel that persistence outward into mathematics, music, or other tangible pursuits.
Political Leadership and the Search for Collective Ambition
Shifting focus to contemporary governance, Attali evaluates the leadership styles of multiple political figures. He describes French President Emmanuel Macron as possessing formidable personal drive but criticized his reliance on micromanagement—such as reviewing late-night documents with his general secretary—which he argues discourages subordinates from exercising their own initiative. By contrast, he recalls that François Mitterrand instructed aides to empower ministers to make decisions independently.
Assessing broader electoral politics, Attali suggests that neither Marine Le Pen nor Jean-Luc Mélenchon offers the unifying vision required by modern France, characterizing the latter’s rhetoric as overly reliant on grievance and resentment. He similarly categorizes Donald Trump’s approach as a narcissistic display of personal energy rather than a collective project in service of national interests, though he acknowledges that such foreign pressures can shock European states into self-awareness.
Ultimately, Attali argues that Europe and France suffer from an absence of overarching collective projects, cushioned instead by robust social safety nets that dull public awareness of looming structural challenges. To reverse this drift, he maintains that the state must step back from centralizing control, decentralize authority, and foster an environment where community enterprise, education, and lifelong engagement can thrive.
