It’s all change for Québéc separatists
When is Kentucky Fried Chicken not Kentucky Fried Chicken? It sounds like a riddle, but the answer is simple: in Québéc , Canada.
While everywhere else in the world, regardless of the language spoken – including France – the fast food chain is still known as KFC.
In Quebec, where I am this, week, it is PFK: Poulet Frit Kentucky. Why? French Canadian nationalism. In accordance with Section 63 of Québéc 's French Language Charter, the name of any business must be in French, hence PFK. Similarly, Starbucks here is branded “Café Starbucks”.
When I lived here for a year as a child in 1993, Québéc was gearing up for its second independence referendum, which saw the “sovereignists”, otherwise known as the independence supporters, only just lose out, scraping 49.42 per cent of the vote, against 50.58 per cent voting No. Since then, support for full independence slumped significantly in favour of devolution, something Paul St Pierre Plamondon, the new head of the Quebec equivalent of the SNP, Parti Québécois (PQ), wants to change. More on that – and my latest interview with him – next week.
Some polls have suggested the separatists could bounce back after 30 years to win the next Québéc election, beating the current ruling party, Coalition Avenir Québéc, which fights for greater devolution, but not independence. Yet, confusingly, support for full independence remains at 35 per cent, around the same level it has been for more than a decade.
The reasoning behind the figures is complex. While preservation of the French culture remains an important part of Québécois life and is supported by the current government, anecdotally, even my most fierce French-canadian friends in Montreal have softened their attitude, accepting an ever changing city.
Walk into a shop here and you’re greeted with “bonjour-hi”, the cover-allbases phrase which allows the staff member to ensure they have not offended.
Some worry English is increasingly taking the attention of young people. With the vast majority of international content on sites such as Youtube, Tiktok and Instagram published in English, it is the younger generation which is embracing a more multilingual existence, at least in the more urban areas.
As a result, the older generation of Francophones, who are more likely to support independence, are fighting back. It may be 30 years after Québéc ’s nailbitingly-close indyref, but the cultural battle is still raging.