The day after very harsh remarks against her by Prime Minister François Legault, who accused her of not wanting to defend French, the mayor of Montreal, Valérie Plante, said she was surprised by the “group shots” coming from Quebec in his place.
According to her, however, this episode should not harm her relations with the provincial government.
“This is not the first time that the CAQ government and our administration have not agreed on certain things,” underlined Mr.me Plant. It’s normal. We don’t necessarily have the same vision of things. […] But I work with all the CAQ ministers, we text each other, I chat with them. »
The mayor also participated in an event Friday morning with Minister Chantal Rouleau, responsible for social solidarity and community action. The two women hugged each other at the end of the meeting.
Valérie Plante reiterated that, as mayor of the metropolis, she had to defend all the city’s university institutions. She opposes the Legault government’s increase in university tuition fees for students from other provinces who come to study in English at McGill and Concordia, a measure which could reduce applications for admission to these universities by 30%. establishments.
“Yes, we must protect and promote French, but we must also, at the same time, support all the university institutions that make us shine internationally and promote economic vitality, because we all care about the center -city of Montreal,” she said.
“It is not true to say that the Quebec government is against Montreal, on the contrary. The decline of French in Montreal must be reversed through concrete actions,” responded Minister Rouleau, emphasizing that she would work hand in hand with the person responsible for the French language on the City’s executive committee, Caroline Bourgeois.