"I don't agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it!" It is said to be Voltaire's "famous saying". This sentence has spread so widely that it is even regarded as a "word of wisdom" in Voltaire's native France! It is under the cover of this "famous saying" that some deviant and shocking words in France in recent years, especially some xenophobic, xenophobic and racist words, have been openly expressed on TV, radio, lectures and salons. , popular in newspapers and periodicals. It seems that under the banner of “defending the right to speak to the death”, everything is allowed! The right to "absolute freedom" of speech. However, this is just an "illusion". Absolute freedom of speech does not exist, nor should it exist. Just as Voltaire's "famous saying" is just a misinformation! Voltaire never said anything like this, or even thought like this.

The first person to propose this "famous saying" was the British female writer Evelyn Beatrice Hall. She quoted this quote in a book titled "The Friends of Voltaire" published in 1906. It was later quoted again in another book, Voltaire in his Letters. But Hall later made it clear that she was "overviewing" Voltaire's thought. Her basis is the "Helvetia Incident". Voltaire was not a fan of Claude Adrien Helvétius's De Psyche, calling it "a mass of unorganized ideas"; but when the encyclopaedist philosopher When the book came under attack from the church and authorities after its publication, Voltaire defended it. So Hall wrote when commenting on this matter: "'I don't agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it' has become his consistent attitude since then." She "wrongly" referred to this sentence as I added "quotation marks" to my comments, which led to later generations thinking that they were quoted from Voltaire himself. Hall herself later admitted in a letter dated May 9, 1939 that she had "mistakenly" placed the sentence in quotation marks, causing the reader to misunderstand. She wrote in the letter: "The sentence you read in my book Voltaire in the Letters, 'I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it,' is my own I should not have put it in quotation marks. I inadvertently misled you into thinking it was a quote from Voltaire." Hall's letter was later quoted. Collected in a book published in 1943. Charles Wirtz, director of the Voltaire Museum in Geneva, reiterated this incident in a television interview in 1994 to prove that Voltaire had indeed never said or written this "famous quote."

But this sentence was mentioned again in a book titled "French Quotes" published in 1963. The author of the book is Nobel Gutman, a Jewish translator living in the United States. Gutmann wrote in the book that this sentence appeared in a letter written by Voltaire to a priest named Le Leach: "Mr. priest, I hate what you have written, but I do not hesitate to Give your life so that you can continue to write.” The problem is that although this letter is indeed historically accurate, there is no such sentence in Voltaire’s original letter, or even such a meaning. Neither.

The reason why France has recently questioned Voltaire is because this "famous quote" has recently become a shield for many far-right speeches in France, especially xenophobia, xenophobia, racism and other speeches. Some words that could not be said in the past are now being exposed under the cover of this "famous saying", impacting and influencing French society to turn sharply towards the far right. For example, the famous TV reporter Eric Zimmer recently publicly stated that a business owner has the "right" to ask employment agencies not to recommend blacks and Arabs. Several RQ organizations jointly sued Zimmer for "racial discrimination." Zimmel's "fans" defended him with this "famous quote" from Voltaire. Surrounded by this trend of thought, Marine Le Pen, the new president of the far-right National Front in Paris (daughter of former president Jean-Marie Le Pen), has been rising steadily in opinion polls, even surpassing the current president Sarkozy by a large margin. ...It was the political trends caused by this trend of thought that led to France's reflection on "absolute freedom of speech" and even "reaction", which also led to the investigation, questioning and denial of the origin of Voltaire's "famous saying".