We are doing a very bad trial to François Legault at the moment.
He is accused of having used the term anecdote to talk about the situation of Saul Polo, a Liberal MP of Colombian origin, who learned French when he arrived in Quebec, and who uses it in his public life. .
The liberal and multiculturalist opposition has finally found its bone to gnaw!
Demography
Scandal! Scandal!
We even see the big artificial tears of theatrical indignation flow.
We are here witnessing a small session of demagoguery. Need we remind you that the proportion of immigrants switching to French remains far too low?
Was the term anecdote badly chosen? Obviously yes, as long as we add that the PLQ, currently, makes a scandal of any statement. But for the most part, the Prime Minister recalls a fundamental reality: the language spoken at home remains the best demographic indicator of linguistic vitality.
Let’s see things as they are: French is not strong enough in itself, in North America, to maintain itself only as a common public language. It must have the status of identity language. In existential language.
Let’s look at the scenario: let’s imagine that the proportion of mother tongue French speakers continues to decline in Montreal.
Imagine that the proportion of users of French at home also drops.
A day will come when the sociological foundations allowing the imposition of French as a common language will collapse. We are heading there, crossing the intermediate stage of quasi-official bilingualism.
And under the pressure of demography, the Canadian regime and the American empire, English will almost naturally replace French as the common language.
We would do well to leave this sterile controversy.
French
We will then see that François Legault is right in his diagnosis, even if he expressed it awkwardly.
It will also be noted that he does not draw the political consequences of his diagnosis.
But that’s another question.
