The French have loved Quebec singers and comedians for decades, but the media, literature and intellectual circles of France have long remained a barren land for our compatriots. In addition to the accent barrier, some remember a certain contempt. Quebecers could be entertaining, but not thought-provoking. However, the appointment of Dany Laferrière to the French academy and the media rise of Mathieu Bock-Côté seem to change the situation. Are the French elites now opening up to cousins ​​across the Atlantic?

“At the end of the 1990s we were mainly talking about singers in France, star madness, by Céline Dion… But in the 2000s, with Wajdi Mouawad and Xavier Dolan, I have the impression that the perception of Quebecers in more intellectual circles has changed. We have acquired a certain seriousness,” says Yan Rioux, director of the Librairie du Québec in Paris.

In his opinion, this curiosity has somewhere set the table for the arrival of a Mathieu Bock-Côté in the media in France. For a year the columnist has been the MontrealJournal is one of the headliners of the news channel CNews, sometimes dubbed “French Fox News” by his critics. The sociologist also regularly comments on French news on the microphone of Europe 1, a radio station belonging to the same press group, and writes in the columns of the Figaro, an essential daily reference for the French right. Not to mention his essays, which are quoted today by leading French politicians.

Love him or hate him, we have to admit that no Quebecer before him had reached such a stratum in the French media ecosystem, not even Denise Bombardier, who nevertheless was so successful in France that she received the Legion of Honour. “I speak for myself, but honestly, I’ve never felt a blockage. There was always a big opening. I’ve never been welcomed like “in my cabin in Canada,” says Mathieu Bock-Côté from his Paris apartment.

Since MBC, as it is nicknamed, it has settled on the banks of the Seine and strives to introduce the Québec intellectuals in transit to the Parisian microcosm to smooth their way. In his wake was fellow associate Karima Brikh, who joined the CNews editorial team this fall. At first, the journalist did not have the ambition to be in front of the camera, but she was quickly offered to join the columnist team. Less conservative than her illustrious spouse, Karima Brikh has been one of the centre-left counterbalances at the news channel for more than a month.

“Yes, there is a problem of understanding for the French. They asked me to soften my accent, but they didn’t ask me to lose it. I felt a great openness and it’s going very well so far, ”notes the one who provided the press review for Joël Le Bigot’s show at the Première Chaîne.

Stubborn prejudices

However, Denise Bombardier has no illusions. No, don’t expect a wave of Quebec intellectuals to overwhelm Saint-Germain-des-Prés after Mathieu Bock-Côté’s triumph. There was indeed an invasion of singers with Quebec voices afterwards star madnessbut we’re talking about a much more chauvinistic milieu than that Show business.

“The door is not open. They choose Quebecers, their Quebecers. And even now there are people who folklorize the accent,” laments the author Open letter to the French who believe they are the center of the world.

As evidenced by a particularly spicy new segment of the popular show Daily entitled “Ferme ton tabernacle”, in which host Yann Barthès attacks Mathieu Bock-Côté. Left-leaning, often described as “right-thinking,” Barthès pokes fun at the Quebec accent, among other things, to discredit “CNews’ Quebec immigrant.” […] who has nothing to complain about here”, with all imaginable clichés.

“It’s terribly stupid. […] But that is the exception rather than the rule. We must not allow ourselves to be discouraged by these residual prejudices à la Yann Barthès,” replies Mathieu Bock-Côté, who also notes that in France this condescension is more present on the left than on the right.

Yan Rioux is not so sure. The director of the Librairie du Québec in Paris reports that the feminist Martine Delvaux and the libertarian Francis Dupuis-Déri may not have the notoriety of Mathieu Bock-Côté, but he confirms that their essays still meet with interesting success.

“There are some successful trials in Quebec. Quebec has always been a household name when it comes to dramaturgy. But in literature it’s more difficult, notes Yan Rioux. You should know that many books come out here every year. The French are not waiting for us, they do not need us, they are self-sufficient. However, booksellers are very interested in Quebec. There have never been so many Quebec books on the shelves, but that hasn’t translated into sales just yet. »

Disinterest among Quebecers too

Admittedly, Dany Laferrière is now an “immortal,” but it is the Haitian writer rather than the renowned Quebec author who got into the French Academy, gossip has it. Enough to feed this stubborn impression that the French intelligentsia is less hermetic to the rest of Francophonie than to Quebec. On France 24, an international news channel, it’s also common to hear African and North African accents, while the Québécois language is conspicuously absent from the airwaves.

“There is no discrimination, there is just no one who can work in the media in France. There’s a lot of sympathy, but I think we just didn’t bother to knock on the door,” laments Gaspé-born Bertin Leblanc, who was editor-in-chief at France 24 when the channel launched in 2005 .

An observation that Mathieu Bock-Côté shares with regret. “The great mistake of Quebec intellectuals since the 1980s has been to turn from France to the American east coast. Today they dream 1000 times more about being published in The Atlantic that in Point “, Saddened by this staunch separatist who sees France as Quebec’s only ally, hence the need to build bridges on both sides.

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