Romuald Gadegbeku's Debut Novel 'Les Gréveuses' Chronicles Paris Hotel Workers' Strike

Romuald Gadegbeku, a French journalist of Togolese descent, published his debut novel 'Les Gréveuses' in October 2025 with Éditions Grasset. The novel, set in contemporary France, tells the story of 17 African chambermaids at a luxury Parisian hotel who go on strike to demand decent working conditions and an end to institutional racism. The title, a neologism combining 'grève' (strike) and 'rêve' (dream), reflects the novel's blend of social realism and poetic fantasy. Gadegbeku drew inspiration from the historic strike at the Ibis Clichy-Batignolles hotel (2019-2021) and from his own mother's experience as a chambermaid. The central character, Rita, is partly inspired by his mother. The novel employs a polyphonic narrative, alternating perspectives and locations, from the hotel picket line to the suburban housing projects where the workers live. It also incorporates multiple linguistic registers, including a 'folkloric' language mixed with African words, the lyrical language of Rita's dreams, and the slang of the banlieues spoken by her son Christian. Gadegbeku, a 2020 Lagardère scholarship laureate, collaborated with Le Temps, Society, and SoFoot. The novel took four years to write, went through seven versions, and is 228 pages, priced at €22. In interviews, Gadegbeku cites influences including Aimé Césaire, Patrick Chamoiseau, and Léon-Gontran Damas, and discusses the importance of the poetic and political in literature.