France is today pursuing a diplomatic policy of “non-interference, non-indifference” with regard to Quebec, French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said bluntly during his official visit to Canada on Thursday.
Mr. Attal said he subscribed to the policy of “non-interference, non-indifference” first stated more than 45 years ago by French Minister Alain Peyrefitte, according to which France would unconditionally support Quebec in the choices it makes. what he would do about his future. “This sentence says a lot. I find myself there quite well, of course,” declared the head of the French government during a press conference in Ottawa on Thursday.
The Attal government therefore favors the “rule” adopted by all French presidents, from Valery Giscard d’Estaing to (visibly) Emmanuel Macron with the exception of Nicolas Sarkozy, for whom “neither-nor” was “not too much [s]we thing.”
The Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, — who was alongside Mr. Attal — was quick to “emphasize that there is no disagreement” between Ottawa and Quebec on France’s diplomatic policy at home. respect of Quebec. “Canada is very happy to have a deep friendship with France and — as a proud Quebecer, too — I am very happy that my beautiful province of Quebec also has privileged relations with France,” he said. he said from behind a lectern adorned with a maple leaf. “There are no contradictions there and we will continue to work hand in hand to build bridges on one side of the Atlantic and the other,” he added.
After an interview with the Governor General, Mary Simon, a dinner at the National Gallery of Canada, a tête-à-tête with Mr. Trudeau, a ceremony at the Amicitia France-Canada monument, Gabriel Attal set off to Quebec, where he will deliver a speech before the National Assembly. He expects other questions on the direct and privileged relationship between France and Quebec. “Quebecers are attached to the fact that I can answer in Quebec, to all the questions that are asked [à ce sujet] », he mentioned, surrounded on all sides by flags of Canada, France and the European Union.
Further details will follow.