In 1956, as France was just beginning to savor the benefits of a consumer society, Charles Estienne, an influential and popular French art critic who was championing the most advanced forms of modern art, finally decided to give up his career in the art world and devote himself to writing popular songs, in particular for his anarchist friend Léo Ferré, and quickly became the household name of French intellectual songwriting. In order to justify such a radical change, Estienne, who had previo...