Médicis Prize 2026: Philippe Vasset awarded for his novel "In Broad Strokes"

The Médicis Prize was awarded to Philippe Vasset for his novel "Dans les grandes lignes," which explores France along high-voltage power lines. The jury, led by Pascale Roze, favored Vasset's work over six others, all by female authors. In the foreign novels category, the prize went to Eva Baltasar for "Déclin et fascination," while Jean-Baptiste Del Amo won for essays with "Une éclaircie." A special prize was given to Richard Zenith for his biography of Pessoa. Vasset expressed joy at the recognition of his unconventional book, which took him two years to write, documenting his journey along power lines. The jury excluded Thélyson Orélien's novel due to allegations of AI involvement in its writing. The announcement came just before the Goncourt and Renaudot awards.