Les Empires contre-attaquent

Moscow, Tehran, Ankara, Beijing, Delhi—but also Washington… From all sides, empires are back and are joining forces against old Europe. At last, revealed through a sweeping historical fresco, is the forgotten story that explains today’s global chaos: how the old Eastern empires, fascinated by the West, modernized themselves at the beginning of the 20th century by chasing technological and social progress. They abandoned their identity and traditions in favor of Westernization, modernization, and secularism—mostly through totalitarian revolutions. Then, around the 1980s, they gradually or abruptly turned back toward religious obscurantism. The film tells this complex story and, in parallel, deciphers the dark side of imperial America—its civil religion and its militaristic imagination. It explains why and how force and violence are now prevailing over human rights in the name of religion. Striking and powerful, this historical fresco—featuring previously unseen footage—sheds light on the true nature of the major existential challenges we face today as French and European citizens.