The 19e edition of the Francophonie Summit is launched: eighty-eight heads of state, governments and delegations, including Quebec and Canada, will meet today and tomorrow in France to discuss the place and protection of the French language in the world, including in the digital environment.
On an official visit to France for the occasion, Quebec Prime Minister François Legault affirmed that the discoverability of French-speaking content on digital platforms will be one of the important themes of the meeting, in light of the “threat” what, according to him, represents the attractive influence of English for immigrants and young people in Quebec.
The Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, will also be present at the Summit, dragging behind him a criticized record in terms of protecting the French language in Canada. From Ottawa, the oppositions did not fail to take advantage of his departure to France to accuse the Liberals of dragging their feet on the issue of modernizing the Official Languages Act.