Abstract: The reference to Joris-Karl Huysmans, François’friend, is not simple an erudite digression, but a real component of the story. Thus, it is necessary to know Huysmans'work to fully understand Soumission which point is not only to describe the political world, but also to examine the genre of the novel. Michel Houellebecq is in line with a literary approach, that is not ideological. François may be considered as Durtal's son, through a fading between fiction and reality.
