(Quebec and Ottawa) French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal delivered a passionate speech Thursday in Quebec in favor of the protection of French and secularism as being a “condition of freedom”, in the same breath scratching those who would like to “hijack it [et] make people believe that it is a form of anti-religion weapon.”
“Faced with those who pretend not to understand what secularism is, who would like to divert it, make people believe that it is a form of anti-religion weapon, make people believe that it is a form of negation of religions, make believe that it is a form of discrimination, we respond that secularism is the condition of freedom, is the condition of equality, is the condition of fraternity,” declared Mr. Attal at the Salon bleu, to the great pleasure of Prime Minister François Legault, all smiles.
In his response, a few minutes later, the Prime Minister of Quebec cited the words of the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, who affirmed that “he wanted to govern so that France remains France”.
The too large number of immigrants in Quebec has an impact on “the future of French, but also on our values,” said Mr. Legault.
I too want to govern so that Quebec remains Quebec.
The Premier of Quebec, François Legault
This statement aroused applause from Mr. Attal, but not from the deputies of Québec solidaire and the Liberal Party. “It’s not a choice that is accepted by everyone, it’s the same thing in Europe. But I know that on secularism, Quebec and France speak with one voice,” declared Mr. Legault.
Protection of French
As part of his speech, the youngest prime minister of the Ve République, who is 35 years old and is seen in France as a potential successor to President Emmanuel Macron, also announced that Quebec and France will sign a joint declaration on Friday on the future of French.
M. Attal a vanté le combat des Québécois qui ont refusé « de céder à la fatalité » et se sont battus pour préserver leur langue. Si « certains pensaient sans doute que le français avait vocation à disparaître de la carte de l’Amérique du Nord », « ils ne connaissaient pas les Québécois », a-t-il lancé, en provoquant de longs applaudissements.
Face au « numérique » et au « contenu en ligne, qui voudrait nous imposer une forme d’uniformité, y compris linguistique », M. Attal promet de se battre. « Nous nous battrons pour que chaque enfant, chaque jeune, puisse avoir accès à des livres, des articles, des jeux vidéo, des séries en français », a-t-il lancé.
Dans son discours, M. Attal a aussi souligné les aspirations et les enjeux de la jeunesse, par exemple la lutte contre les changements climatiques, mais aussi l’importance de préserver la diversité culturelle et la capacité des futures générations à vivre leur vie en français, dans toutes les sphères de la société.
Oui à la « non-ingérence, non-indifférence »
Plus tôt jeudi, alors qu’il était en point de presse à Ottawa, le premier ministre Attal a également confirmé son adhésion à la « non-ingérence, non-indifférence ».
« Je crois que c’était [l’ancien ministre français de la Justice Alain] Peyrefitte who said “non-interference, non-indifference”,” he began.
“I think that sentence says a lot and I relate to it quite well, of course,” he said, smiling and glancing at his host from Canada.
“There is no disagreement,” added Justin Trudeau, repeating a word of the question from the journalist who launched the invitation to clarify everything.
French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal and his Canadian host Justin Trudeau reiterated their support for the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), threatened by the protectionist winds blowing in France.
Three weeks ago, the French Senate voted against the trade pact thanks to an alliance of left and right oppositions, jeopardizing its ratification.
The free trade treaty has been in force provisionally since September 2017. As a result, around 95% of its provisions are in force.
Donc, « il s’applique », a tenu à spécifier le premier ministre Attal en conférence de presse commune avec son vis-à-vis du Canada, jeudi, à Ottawa.
Le jeune politicien, qui a fait du Canada sa première destination à l’extérieur de l’Union européenne depuis sa nomination à Matignon, a souligné l’ironie de l’union de circonstance qui a mené au vote contre l’AECG.
« Je rappelle que le CETA [le sigle de l’accord, en anglais]in France, it was negotiated by the right and signed by the left” in the context of the European elections, he said.
Saying he is aware of the protectionist temptations that drive part of French society, Prime Minister Trudeau said he had “extreme confidence” in the prospect of ratification.