An autobiographical novel examining the efforts of one man to teach the French language to a rowdy classroom of teenagers in the outskirts of Paris. Winner of the Prix France Culture/Telerama Prize, The Class explores issues of race, class, identity and colonial history against the backdrop of a turbulent French society grappling with the controversial social consequences of its immigration policy. The novel's eponymous film version is directed by Laurent Cantet, stars Begaudeau as himself and received the Palme D'Or at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival.
