Lévy recounts a humorous story from footsteps of de Tocqueville.

Topic: Bernard-Henri Levy on de Tocqueville

Bernard-Henri Levy: The policeman on the highway to Chicago, I think, who, at the moment, when I stopped my car, I ask for the driver to… because I don’t drive myself, so [IB] had to hire a driver for me. It’s an incapacity I have. I asked to stop to have a piss. I did it. Policeman came to me, very angry, furious, telling me that I have, it was absolutely forbidden to stop in the middle of a highway to do such terrible thing. He was really at the edge of putting me a big fine and maybe making me lose a few hours and I told him that I was French, but he did not care, that I was a writer, even worse, that I was a philosopher. Go to hell. That I wrote a book about Daniel Pearl. He did not really know the name, and suddenly I told him, but really, out of arguments, out of I did not know to which saint [asked], I said, “I’m doing a book about Alexis de Tocqueville.” And then his face was cleared by a great smile. “Alexis de Tocqueville? Are you really meaning Tocqueville?’’ I said, “Yes.” “Oh, my God! So you are blessed!” No fine and nothing. He took me back to the car and he said, “Bye-bye. Good luck. Have a good day.”