Gérard Lemarquis
Gérard Lemarquis is a professor of French at the University of Iceland and a correspondent for Le Monde. He has lived on the island since the 1970s.
Updated: 5 March 2010
Sources and authors
By Gérard Lemarquis
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Humour in Europe (7/10) : Lampoon culture thrives in Iceland
28 August 2012763 Le Monde Paris -
Icesave referendum: Defiant Iceland's cloudy future
5 March 201012 Le Monde Paris
When you live far away from the rest of the world and are descended from Vikings – a people hardly known for their communication skills – knowing the art of self-deprecating comedy seems to come naturally. In the seventh part of its series on humour, Le Monde takes us to Reykjavik where parody is the best cure for narcissism. 
On 6 March, the citizens of Iceland vote in a referendum on the reimbursement of their country's national debt. The collapse of the banking system and sharply declining standards of living have prompted many to turn their backs on Europe and seek economic salvation in traditional industries.