Why did Michel Foucault criticize Jean-Paul Sartre despite Sartre’s influence in France?

Michel Foucault and a new generation of French philosophers criticized Jean-Paul Sartre because they viewed his existentialism as the latest manifestation of "subjectivist and metaphysical excess".1

For these thinkers, Sartre’s focus on the individual consciousness—the "For-itself"—and his emphasis on human freedom represented an antiquated humanism that needed to be overthrown. Foucault, in particular, rejected the humanist tradition, famously declaring in The Order of Things that "man" was a recent invention destined to disappear as new forms of knowledge emerged.1

This critique was driven by several factors:
* Intellectual Shift: Influenced by structuralism, linguistics, and the anti-metaphysical doctrines of Nietzsche and Heidegger, Foucault sought to move beyond the focus on subjective experience.1
* Historical Context: Humanism was viewed with suspicion due to its association with the Third Republic’s surrender to Nazism and the role of Western philosophy in legitimizing imperialism.1
* Methodological Rigor: Structuralist approaches were perceived as more scientifically rigorous, making traditional humanistic disciplines appear unrigorous and mired in the past.1