I love anything that sends Quebec separatists into a spasm of self-righteous indignation. So hat’s off to Nicolas Sarkozy, my hunky new Euro-hero.
This week, on the occasion of presenting Quebec Premier Jean Charest with France’s Legion of Honour medal, the French President delivered an extemporaneous monologue denouncing the prospect of Canada falling to pieces. “Do you really believe that the world, with the [unprecedented] economic crisis that it is going through, needs division? Need hatred?” he asked. “Those who do not understand [the need for unity], I do not think they have understood the message of the Francophonie — the universal values we share in Quebec as in France: the rejection of sectarianism, the rejection of division, the refusal to retreat into oneself.”
The statement grew angry reactions from separatists, who accused the man of being under the thrall of Power Corp. chairman Paul Desmarais and other influential federalists. Parti Québécois opposition critic for international relations Louise Beaudoin declared that Sarkozy was “displaying a profound lack of understanding” of her province. “Someone has whispered a song in his ear that is totally different from reality,” added Gerald Larose, president of nationalist group Conseil de la souverainete. “If there is sectarianism, it is not in Quebec. If there is aggressivity, it is not in Quebec.”
Actually, I'd say that Sarkozy understands Quebec just fine — much better, in fact, than radical Quebec separatists, whose political monomania blinds them to the political reality in their own backyard. Most Quebecers share the French President’s federalist leanings. And even many Quebec nationalists are loathe to fling the province into a period of political uncertainty at a time when the continent’s financial markets are reeling.
I also think Sarkozy is well-justified in casting his objection in terms of “the rejection of sectarianism, the rejection of division, the refusal to retreat into oneself.” As residents of Canada’s most left-leaning province, Quebecers tend to share the multilateral, internationalist values that animate the United Nations and European Union. Given this — and the European trend toward more integration, not less — it must seem odd for a Parisian visitor to hear Quebec separatists sound off like cranky, go-it-alone nativists. This incongruity explains why Sarkozy seemed so exasperated at separatists when he made his comments.
“The non-interference [policy] is not really my thing,” Mr. Sarkozy declared, in explanation to why he did not hew the usual agnostic French line on Quebec’s future (“non-interference and non-indifference,” according to the usual formulation). In this regard, I hope he’s set a trend that other French Presidents follow. In truth, France’s so-called ni-ni policy never made any sense. Canada and France are both military allies and trade partners. As Mr. Sarkozy has the good sense to realize, they cannot be “neutral” in some abstract sense to political forces that seek to blow up one country or another from within.
jkay@nationalpost.com