As soon as you arrive in Djerba, where Saturday 18e Summit of La Francophonie, Prime Minister François Legault announced that he was going to take advantage of his status as a full member of the Summit, in the same way as Canada or France, not only to “promote French”, but to explain its language policies to the Member States. The Prime Minister wants to counter the “misinterpretations” abroad, he says, of Bill 96 by explaining to the 88 member countries of the International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF) the linguistic context in which Quebecers live.
“Our law 96 can be misinterpreted […]. I think it’s important with our francophone partners to clearly explain the context and the situation we are experiencing in Montreal, among others. Let’s remember the new figures released this summer. We have fallen below the symbolic bar of 50% “of Montrealers who speak French at home.
Above all, the Prime Minister wants to let French-speaking countries know that Quebec “is and will always be a welcoming people. We receive 50,000 new arrivals every year. It is more than France or the United States. […] If there are those who are well placed to understand the challenge we have in Quebec to protect French, it is the French-speaking states.
This summit, which has been postponed twice, is likely to be busy for the Prime Minister. Not only will François Legault participate in the Francophone Economic Forum on Sunday, which is also being held in Djerba, but he should also meet Tunisian President Kaïs Saïed, as well as his Canadian counterpart, Justin Trudeau.
Law 101 and Democracy
It was the president himself who requested this meeting, he said. We know that Ottawa had considered asking for a postponement of the summit after Kaïs Saïed had suspended Parliament in July 2021, before dissolving it, and had a Constitution adopted by referendum giving him full powers.
François Legault intends to address these issues without “pointing the finger” at Tunisia, he says, but saying “that for us, it’s important”. Referring to the legislative elections to be held on December 17, he said he wanted to “give a chance to the runner […] We won’t get involved, but we will still mention that democracy and human rights are important to us”.
The Premier of Quebec denies any consultation with Ottawa on these issues. Friday, it was not possible to know if Justin Trudeau would also meet Kaïs Saïed when he arrived on Saturday.
Finally, even if the details of this meeting remained to be specified on Friday, it seems that the first meeting between Justin Trudeau and François Legault since the re-election of the latter will take place on Tunisian soil. The Premier of Quebec wishes to discuss not only the Francophonie, but above all the application of Bill 101 to federally chartered businesses in Quebec. “I want Mr. Trudeau to understand that at 48% of Francophones on the Island of Montreal, the situation is worrying and that we will have to take action together. »
If he has time, François Legault will also talk about health transfers. “It is time for the federal government to increase its share. We are at 22% […]. This is a unanimous request from the provinces. “Regarding the orientations of the OIF, François Legault considers that there are no differences with Justin Trudeau.
French content
On Friday evening, the Quebec premier also met with the secretary general of the OIF, Louise Mushikiwabo, whose re-election seems assured since no opposition has come forward. Despite public criticism concerning the weakness of his interventions in the defense of the French language, François Legault says he is satisfied with his work. “When you look at what she did, there was a lot of housework to do,” he said. It has improved processes. We are opening an office in Quebec, which is good news for us. Economic missions have been organised. »
During this meeting, the Prime Minister spoke about digital technology, which is the official theme of the summit. “I think we have to do more, including France, Quebec, Belgium and Switzerland, to develop French content, so work to promote French. Make sure that French takes its place and that we don’t leave all the room to English. He says he is ready to put his money where his mouth is and “to invest more in the development of French-language content”.
Upon his arrival, François Legault met the Minister-President of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, Pierre-Yves Jeholet. He also spoke with Hichem Elloumi, a Tunisian businessman who founded Coficab, a leader in the manufacture of electric cables for the automotive industry.
On Sunday, the Prime Minister is expected to speak at the Francophone Economic Forum. Quebec is represented by some twenty business people, many of whom are members of the Tunisian Junior Chamber of Quebec.
As around sixty Heads of State or Government began to land, the security forces pushed back demonstrators from the small town of Zarzis who were trying to enter the island of Djerba by the only land link connects to the mainland. These families demand information concerning the disappearance of a migrant boat which occurred on September 21 and of which a certain number of victims have still not been identified.