Quebec Premier and French PM to discuss immigration

Quebec Premier François Legault was received Thursday morning at the Hôtel de Matignon by his newly appointed French counterpart, Michel Barnier, where he intends to discuss immigration.

Legault, who is the first head of government that Barnier has received at Matignon, was welcomed with great honors. All the pomp of such an event was deployed for the occasion: red carpet and Republican Guard as his car entered the courtyard of honor.

Before the interview took place, Barnier told reporters that this was a “very important” meeting.

Quebec is a place that is “dear” to Barnier, one of his spokespersons told The Canadian Press, and it is “a key partner for the promotion and defense of the Francophonie.”

On Wednesday evening, during a live interview on TV5 Monde, Legault said that the theme of immigration — which seems central to his visit — would be addressed in his discussions with Barnier, as was the case last week with French President Emmanuel Macron.

Quebecers have “exactly the same feeling” as the French of being “a little shaken by the number” of immigrants, he said.

“If we tell newcomers ‘you can speak the language you want,’ in North America, it’s tempting to say: I’m going to go on the Internet, I’m going to go on Netflix, on Spotify, and then my whole life will be spent in English,'” said Legault. “That means that in 25 years, in 50 years, what will be left of French in Montreal?”

On Wednesday, Legault followed up with a new demand. According to him, Ottawa should force half of the 160,000 asylum seekers in Quebec to move to other provinces, which has provoked indignation from the federal government, which accuses him of making almost “inhuman” comments.

— With information from the Associated Press

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews