World Will Be Same But Worse After 'Banal' Virus, Says French Writer Michel Houellebecq

Controversial French writer Michel Houellebecq said Monday that he believes the world will be just the same after the coronavirus - only worsehttps://t.co/twNnIQPvOo

— AFP news agency (@AFP) May 4, 2020

The novelist, seen by his fans as a modern prophet of a nihilistic, individualistic age, poured cold water on those who see the pandemic as a possible turning point.

"I do not believe for a half-second the declarations that 'nothing will be like it was before'," said Houellebecq who rose to international fame through his 1998 novel "Atomised".

"We will not wake up after the lockdown in a new world. It will be the same, just a bit worse," he said in an essay for French public radio.