Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

On July 24th we celebrate the anniversary of the famous “Vive Le Québec… Libre!” », uttered by de Gaulle in 1967 from the balcony of Montreal City Hall. A look back at a speech that put Quebec on the world map.

A speech can shake things up, change everything. The proof with this impressive moment of Gaullish gesture.

A French epic in America

Louis XV was a disastrous ruler for France. The slightest of his mistakes was not the task of “ new France », an old term that referred to those lands of North America where a few brave Frenchmen had settled who braved the cold and the unknown to establish the fur trade. Over time, certain priests and young girls with wicked lives were sent there. Distant epics by Cartier, Champlain and Montcalm. These adventurers discovered the first inhabitants of this snowy land: the Algonquin people. Despite violent episodes, there is usually some kind of dialogue through trade between French and locals.

It was a bad decision that Louis XV. saw no interest in maintaining the royal presence in these distant lands. France left the colony to its fate. Didn’t Voltaire write with contempt that these were only “a few hectares of snow”? Quebec was ceded to the English in 1763. Paris retained only the small archipelago of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, whose waters were rich in cod.

Drowned for two centuries in the English-speaking ocean, orphans of their motherland, the Quebecois managed, against all odds, to survive as a people. They grouped themselves around churches and developed thanks to the “Revenge of the Cradles,” that pronatalist politics avant la lettre. From 60,000 at the time of departure from France, by the early 1960s there were more than six million who lined the legendary banks of the St. Lawrence River.

Louis XV’s mistake make amends

De Gaulle played politics for centuries. He wanted the mistake of Louis XV. make amends. Give Quebec its rightful place in the Concert of Nations. Give back to this French voice in America what France owed her. As soon as he arrived at the Élysée Palace in 1958, he took up his pilgrimage staff. On his orders, a Maison du Québec was opened in Paris. The ORTF, for its part, set up an office on the other side of the Atlantic to inform the French about the realities of Quebec. Unfortunately the directive was abandoned because…

In 1967, the Canadian authorities invited de Gaulle to make an official visit to the country. In theory, the general should have landed in Ottawa, the federal capital, which lies on English-speaking land. It wasn’t his will. To avoid this situation, he decides to travel by boat. In Brest, de Gaulle boarded the Colbert on July 15, 1967. The destination is Quebec City, the only fortified city in America. During the crossing he confided his intentions to his son-in-law Alain de Boissieu: “I intend to strike a big blow. It will be difficult, but it must be done. This is the last opportunity to make amends for France’s cowardice.”

Hit!

As soon as he arrived in Quebec, the crowd cheered him. La Belle-Province is experiencing the height of its “Quiet Revolution”. Once the poorest province in Canada, ridiculed and stigmatized by English speakers, people there lived in unprecedented poverty. The English-speaking speakers also spoke of “ Pea dinner » (Pea Eater) to commemorate the inhabitants of this distant appendage, linked to Canada by the incongruity of history. But now Quebec is showing its full potential. Thanks to an autonomous energy policy, people are finally standing up. In the hearts of Quebecers, independence seems to be a tangible dream. For many, the general’s arrival is a symbol of this hope.

The day after his arrival, de Gaulle and Daniel Johnson, the premier of Quebec, boarded a limousine. You’ll drive along the province’s main highway, which runs along the St. Lawrence River. Your name? The royal road. This doesn’t displease de Gaulle. The general greets the assembled citizens as they pass by. Sometimes the convoy stops, like here in Donnacona, where the man from June 18th says: “You are part of the French people.” Your French-Canadian people, the French-Canadian people, can only rely on themselves. » The Canadian officials almost choked. You haven’t seen anything yet! On the convoy, French and Quebec flags adorn a large triumphal arch. On the other side maple flag hay, symbol of Canada. If the protocol says “ God Save the Queen “, the official anthem of Canada, the boos of the crowd – and sometimes even a few pulses…

An extraordinary gesture of rebellion against the established order

After an arduous journey, the general finally arrived in Montreal. The city’s mayor, Jean Drapeau, asked de Gaulle to greet the crowd from the steps of the Hôtel-de-Ville. De Gaulle won’t just wave his arms. He wants to express himself. “There is no microphone,” assures Mayor Jean Drapeau – an opponent of independence… De Gaulle insists that his bodyguard eventually – lo and behold – finds a microphone hidden in a corner!

The general speaks in military clothing in front of an excited audience. “It is an immense emotion that fills my heart when I see the French city of Montreal in front of me (ovation from the audience). In the name of the old country, in the name of France, I greet you. I greet you with all my heart! I’m going to tell you a secret tonight that you won’t repeat (laughter from the crowd), and all my way I found myself in an atmosphere similar to that of liberation! (long ovation from the audience).”

At the end of the speech, de Gaulle delivers the big blow that he had carefully prepared. “Long live Montreal!” Long live Quebec! (Ovation).” The general pauses for a moment. He takes a breath before throwing a huge stone into the pond. “Long live free Quebec!” “. There is enthusiasm in the audience. Howls of joy. France, a major world power, has just supported the independence of the province of La Belle.

Language is an action

The next day their hatred erupted in the English-language press. THE Montreal Star reminiscent of “an angry elephant,” while the Time suggests “putting the French leader under supervision.” THE New York Times wins the award for disinformation. “De Gaulle showed his true colors by galvanizing the extremist movements in French Canada.”

In France, the political-media class does not follow its president. Prime Minister Georges Pompidou privately calls out the Quebec general’s “groundless madness.”. The world writes a scathing editorial: “Excess in everything…”. The angry Canadian authorities pressured de Gaulle to interrupt his stay. The general ridicules this and rebukes his critics for their mediocrity: “Moreover, everything that swarms, frogs and scribbles has no historical consequence under these great circumstances, just as it never had under any other.”

Young Canadian Justice Minister Pierre-Eliott Trudeau, a French-speaking Montrealer hostile to independence, tries to confront the general. “What would France say if the Canadian prime minister started shouting Brittany to the Bretons? “. De Gaulle replied to the father of the current Canadian Prime Minister: “We have no concessions or even any kindness to offer to Mr. Trudeau, who is the opponent of the French cause in Canada.” Satisfied, de Gaulle returned to France on the presidential plane. He has opened a breach and has just put Quebec on the world map, so much so that the Chinese Communist Party’s daily newspaper invented a new combination of ideograms for the word Quebec to tell the story of the event – which simply did not exist in that language. Even today, between 40 and 45% of Quebecers support the nation’s independence.

The indiscreets of ERB

Retailleau gets out the boxing gloves • He learned to hit. On RTL, Bruno Retailleau seems insoluble. “We lost voters not because we were too right-wing, but because we gave up our convictions too often. Because we lacked the stability.” The head of the LR senators “doesn’t care” about having a program that is now almost identical to that of the RN. The door to the Union of the Right opened? “It’s been decades (…), as soon as we want to be steadfast, we say ohlala, scandal, fascism is coming!”. The Vendéen continues, visibly annoyed by Stéphane Carpentier’s questions: “They are tired of political correctness. I am elected, I have a mandate from the French people. » The third man in a match on the right between Laurent Wauquiez and David Lisnard?