June 15, 2012. On the stage of the Francofolies de Montréal, in front of a crowd of tens of thousands of people, the members of the group Loco Locass demand a minute of silence, in memory of freedom of speech in Quebec.
Since February, Quebec students have been on an indefinite general strike to protest against the hike in tuition fees promised by the Liberal government of Jean Charest. In response to the demonstrators, the National Assembly has just adopted a special law to force organizers to reveal the route and duration of rallies, and to prohibit them from blocking access to schools.
“We invited student leaders to join us,” recalls Biz, a rapper in the group. One by one, people sat down, in silence. The only audible sound was that of a saxophone, on a stage a little further. After a minute, the rapper chants “Quebec is dead, long live Quebec!” » before beginning the lyrics of the band’s greatest hit, Free us from the liberals. The crowd is delirious.
“I have rarely had such a strong feeling of being in my place, on my X, in symbiosis with my people. I would cut off my little finger to relive this show. »
Enthusiasm is still burning in Biz’s voice when we talk to him about Maple Spring, the student movement that set the whole of Quebec ablaze ten years ago. “What remains are extremely vivid memories of fraternity, creativity, passion, humor and French. Never has Montreal been so French as it was then. It’s not true that young people can’t write. They were creative, funny, brilliant. »
It is this beauty, this commitment of youth that inspired his novelThe warmth of mammals, published by Leméac in 2017, which tells the story of a disillusioned and unhappy literature teacher, whose perspective on the world changes thanks to his involvement in the student strike. “I wanted to bear witness to the strength of this movement. I waited five years to let everything I had to digest rest, to be able to bring the essentials to the surface. »
Cynicism or hope
The Maple Spring, beyond its political and social motivations, is a movement that has been crossed by writing. Slogans, placards, political speeches and opinion columns… Speech was displayed, rooted in criticism or resistance. Numerous essays, collective works and scientific or journalistic articles have examined the events and their resonance.
Here and there, a few sparks of revolt have also won over the world of fiction, giving birth to texts here — as with Biz — bearing hope and joy, there, cynicism or disillusion, one foot in the struggle , or simple observers of events.
The writer Patrick Nicol is one of those for whom the memories of the student strike fuel more cynicism than optimism. His eloquently titled novel — land of idiots (La Mèche, 2012) — was written hotly, to the sound of pots and pans and Richard Martineau’s dismissive comments about the demonstrators.
“I was in forced unemployment, I had time to write, and the news always feeds my creativity, explains the one who is also a professor at the Cégep de Sherbrooke. I have this appetite for immediate literature, which participates in discussion and debate. »
His character, Pierre, also a French teacher, is confronted by the young strikers with the ideals he has consciously traded for hedonism. Through an imaginary conversation with a friend, he takes an uncompromising look at a society plagued by mediocrity.
“Pierre is in front of a cul-de-sac. Through its discomfort and its cynicism, I allowed myself to question the value and interest of culture and education in our society, but also the mutual incomprehension between generations and the legitimacy that Maple Spring gave to columnists and police violence. There was something very unhealthy in the air, which just got worse. »
With The scent of tuberose(Alto, 2015), the writer and poet Élise Turcotte chose the camp of resistance. A plea for literature, the novel also features a teacher, Irène, determined to prove to her students the power of poetry. As spring blushes on the horizon, Irene will be forced to quit her job, punished for her commitment to the heart of the revolt, then to teach a very strange assembly in the bunker of death.
“I had started the novel a little before the start of the demonstrations. When I found myself in the street, with the students, I was no longer able to write. With my poet friends, we wondered what it was like to write about revolt. Is it lived through writing or in the street? In any case, it seemed impossible not to talk about it. When I resumed the thread of my writing, Maple Spring became part of my story. »
Poetics and politics intertwine in this dreamlike novel which summons several texts and works of art to take the side of disobedience, solidarity and knowledge and to denounce the culture of denunciation and semantic shifts.
“I remember at the time, green squares went to court to demand to be able to attend their lessons. It was so absurd, I felt like I was in a Kafka novel. This nonsense also crept into my book. »
Besides the novels, the words, the memories, what remains of this spring with revolutionary scents?
“Sometimes we have the impression that the mountain gave birth to a mouse. I saw this week that Jean Charest was considering running for the leadership of the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC). It’s crazy how history stutters. What is certain is that a politicized generation is never lost. Their commitments have moved, but the young people are still there,” concludes Biz.