The #French concept of ‘#intellectuel’ (& all its cognates, eg. « intellectualisme ») is so heavily (& very often in the Vth Rep, negatively*) nuanced that it is difficult to generalise about. And yet France produces coalface writers - intellectuals - of the calibre of #MichelWinock & #ThomasPiketty, whose major works are of the highest analytical standard (& I’m using the only independent benchmark I know: the anglophone tradition).
* Eg. Lagarde’s ‘books down & roll our sleeves up’ attitude.