Mysterious messages have been appearing on the internet, accompanied by high-quality computer-generated videos, one depicting the beheading of Bruno in a guillotine.

Eventually a video showing the destruction of a cargo ship is published; this turns out to be real, threatening global trade.

Paul's father Édouard is a retired member of the General Directorate for Internal Security, who has been analysing the mysterious messages.

[4] However, France shows some signs of revival and is without labour strikes but "the gap between the ruling classes and the populace has reached unprecedented levels".

[6] The young outgoing president is completing his second term, having "given up the fantasies of a start-up nation which won his first election, but had objectively resulted only in the creation of a few precarious underpaid jobs".

[7] The election candidates include, on the presidential majority side, the Minister of the Economy and a character who resembles media personality Cyril Hanouna.

[11] Shaun Whiteside's English translation was published in the UK on 19 September 2024 by Picador and in the US on 8 October 2024 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

[6] Jean Birnbaum of Le Monde wrote, "The most poignant pages of his novel are those in which he manages to bring to life, amid solitude and dereliction, fleeting gestures that make you cry.

"[3] Étienne Campion of Marianne called it a "profound novel about illness, suffering, agony, and death, which will surprise, even irritate, many readers".

[15] The daily newspapers Le Figaro and Libération, who are positioned on opposing sides of the political spectrum, were in agreement in praising the success of the novel's storyline.

Likewise, a favourable reception was received from the magazine Elle and from regional daily newspapers such as Ouest-France and La Voix du Nord.

"[4] Left-wing publications L'Obs, Les Inrockuptibles and L'Humanité also published unfavourable reviews of the novel, deviating from their usual acclaim of Houellebecq's work.