Abdellah Taïa's "Debout dans tes rêves" Explores Bond Between Moroccan Sitter and Parisian Child

Abdellah Taïa's new novel "Debout dans tes rêves," published by éditions Julliard, centers on the relationship between Majid, a Moroccan student in Paris facing precarious finances and the constant threat of an OQTF (obligation de quitter le territoire français), and Gabriel, the 3-year-old boy he is hired to babysit. Gabriel's mother, Isabelle, works long hours, so Majid becomes central to the child's upbringing. Taïa frames the bond as mutual: the sitter is essential to the child's life, and the child gives Majid an affection and recognition that society withholds. The author discussed the book with Nathalie Amar on RFI. The RFI segment also featured Congolese writer Steve Aganze, whose debut novel "Bahari-Bora" won the prix Vocation 2025 and, more recently, the prix Emilie Flore Faignond; his work blends fiction and testimony on war in eastern DRC, particularly its impact on women. Aganze grew up in Bukavu and now lives in Kinshasa, where RFI correspondent Aurélie Bazzara Kibangula interviewed him. The broadcast aired on 21 October 2026.