The last time that Jean-François Roberge came on an official visit to Paris, it was as Minister of Education. Half a dozen French schools were then paired with Quebec schools. These so-called “Franco-Quebec” schools should soon be multiplied by three, he says. Having just arrived in the capital of France, the Minister of the French Language intends to visit one of these schools this week. “For me, they are very symbolic of what the France-Quebec relationship represents. »
But Minister Roberge’s visit is above all motivated by the desire to advance the project of adding a digital component to the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. In 2014, Quebec worked closely with France to have it adopted by UNESCO.
“We want to produce version 2.0 of this convention in order to propel it into the digital world,” said the minister. And when we talk about cultural diversity, we also talk about linguistic diversity in the digital world. » For this, he adds, as in 2014, we must first reach an agreement with France then bring the question to the level of the Francophonie before doing so at UNESCO.
This subject, which aims in particular to ensure that minority languages are more accessible on the Internet, Jean-François Roberge will have the opportunity to discuss it with the French Minister of Culture, Rima Abdul-Malak, but also during his speech at the National Assembly before the Mission on the Future of La Francophonie. Created at the initiative of deputies Amélia Lakrafi and Aurélien Taché following the setbacks that France recently experienced in French-speaking Africa, this mission will hear around a hundred experts and actors from the Francophonie before reporting to the Assembly. Notably, she decided to inaugurate her work this week by hearing Jean-François Roberge.
The visit of the Minister of the French Language was to be crowned by the inauguration on Thursday of the International City of the French Language in Villers-Cotterêts, in the former castle of François 1er. Even if the Islamist attack against a teacher in Arras forced the Élysée to postpone this ceremony until 1er November, Jean-François Roberge will visit this new museum which is also intended to be a cultural center open to the entire Francophonie and in which Quebec has invested two million dollars.
“I am told that French elected officials are very interested in everything that Quebec does to ensure the vitality of the French language. I expect them to ask me a lot of questions about Law 96, but also about the other measures that we put forward,” said the minister, who was entitled to a rather flattering portrait in the Figaro Magazine. Jean-François Roberge should grant at least five interviews to the national press, including one to the magazine The Express. He will also meet the new permanent secretary of the French Academy, Amin Maalouf, as well as academician Dany Laferrière.
François Legault’s last official visit to France occurred in 2019. According to the principle of alternating annual visits, it would therefore be up to Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne to come to Quebec. A trip had been scheduled for early 2023, but had to be canceled due to protests against pension reform.