Five years after leaving the political arena, activist, feminist and co-founder of the Québec solidaire party Françoise David looks back on the important moments that marked her career. Through two books written with the complicity of journalist Lisa-Marie Gervais, we revisit a rich life, made up of action and commitment.
A brand new collection dedicated to those who have shaped today’s Quebec is launched at Atelier 10. First titles to come off the press: From heart to fight. Françoise David in five stages and its counterpart intended for youth, A great moment in the life of Françoise David. The Bread and Roses March. The collection is called “Transmission”, and it was with this idea of a legacy in mind that Lisa-Marie Gervais managed to interest the woman who was president of the Fédération des femmes du Québec from 1994 to 2001. caught at the start of the pandemic, when I was vice-president of the New Democracy Movement, which campaigns for a reform of the voting system. As a person of a certain age with a certain experience, I have something to say that might interest younger people? I was a little hesitant at first though. I tried to tell my story with nuance, reserve and a touch of humility,” says Françoise David.
Over the course of the meetings, in person at the beginning, then virtually given the pandemic, Françoise David confided in Lisa-Marie Gervais with two books in mind. Illustrated by Marie-Noëlle Hébert, winner of the 2020 Booksellers’ Prize for her comic strip the fat ugly, the children’s book revolves mainly around the march Du pain et des roses, which began on May 26, 1995 and of which Françoise David was the instigator. We follow the quest of a tenacious, persevering and combative activist for whom the sense of community and social justice is to be put forward. Here, this quest takes the form of a great march of 850 women across Quebec. Two hundred kilometers traveled in ten days against poverty and for more equality. The story is supported by images with a somewhat vintage patina and sfumato effects, as if we had found a box of slides. One thinks of the white albums published by the Grolier house in the 1980s, which recounted the journey of inspiring models to encourage young people to think big: Louis Pasteur, Marie Curie, Maurice Richard, among others. Lisa-Marie Gervais is from the generation whose aspirations were nourished by these illustrated life stories in which a human value was highlighted in the title, according to the formula: “A good example of…”
A good example of commitment
“This is no ordinary bio, warns the journalist, who works at the Homework and to New project. We didn’t want to stuff the text with historical references. A personality looks back on the glorious moments of his life, without hiding the more difficult passages. »
Both in adult and children’s books, generosity and transparency are at the rendezvous; we are not trying to embellish. The character is presented to us not on a pedestal, but on a human scale. Identification is possible.
As a reminder, Françoise David was elected deputy at the head of Québec solidaire on her third attempt. In the book, she does not hide from the reader the disappointment that was hers during the setbacks: “I tried hard not to make it a personal matter, it hit hard, she writes about her second defeat. […] It took me several months to recover from my disappointment and I entered a period of reflection. You need courage and humility to dare to tell yourself like this: “I wanted to. I had insisted that it was not just a success story. It would have been a shame to erase the difficulties. I have known defeats and I wanted to expose them. The stories of majestic characters to whom everything seems to have always succeeded, as if they were in a class of humans apart, resonate with me less. Everyone, at their level and in their own way, can do a little something to move their society forward: every gesture counts and that’s an idea that I wanted to convey. »
same for me From heart to fight, aimed at adult readers. “The story is narrated in the “I”, specifies Lisa-Marie Gervais, so that the transmission is direct and does not pass through the filter of an interpretation. »
We thus discover the beating heart of an activist who grew up in a privileged environment, made aware of inequalities at a very young age by parents who were role models for her. As a reader, we are led to reflect on the notion of the common good. In certain passages, we learn about the way in which one can exercise one’s leadership, even when one does not have the big end of the stick: “There is no point in insulting politicians or the people with whom we want to develop a balance of power, she writes. It is quite a challenge to defend claims. The important thing is to have implacable arguments, but above all, to be sincere. You have to show that you are not buyable, which attracts respect in the absence of concrete gains. “A book to put absolutely in the hands of young women attracted by politics.
Throughout the pages, the photos parade: Françoise David walking against poverty with her sisters; casserole in hand during Maple Spring; victorious at the announcement of her election as deputy, on the third attempt; during a hug with her lover after the announcement of her retirement from political life, in January 2017. And suddenly, something grabs us: the smile of the main interested party. Wonderfully luminous, a sunny smile that moves, and which sits on the cover of both books. That of an inspiring woman connected to others, in whom indignation will have led to action, and who will have always moved forward in respect of her values and ideals.