View source for Vive le Québec libre

{{Short description|Slogan from a 1967 de Gaulle speech in Montreal}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2025}}
{{Italic title}}
{{expand French|date=June 2025}}
[[File:Photo PLM+CDG 1.jpg|thumb|300px|French President Charles de Gaulle shortly after giving the “''Vive le Québec libre''” speech. In the background, Mayor of Montreal [[Jean Drapeau]].]]

"{{lang|fr|'''Vive le Québec libre !'''}}{{-"}} ({{IPA|fr|viv lə ke.bɛk libʁ|lang}}, 'Long live free Quebec!') was a phrase in a speech delivered by French President [[Charles de Gaulle]] in [[Montreal]], [[Quebec]] on July 24, 1967, during an official visit to Canada for the [[Expo 67]] world's fair. While giving an address to a large crowd from a balcony at [[Montreal City Hall]], he uttered {{lang|fr|"Vive Montréal ! Vive le Québec !"}} ("Long live Montreal! Long live Quebec!") and then added, followed by loud applause, {{lang|fr|"Vive le Québec libre !"}} ("Long live free Quebec!") with particular emphasis on the word {{lang|fr|libre}}. The phrase, a slogan used by Quebecers who favoured [[Quebec sovereignty movement|Quebec sovereignty]], was seen as giving his support to the movement.

The speech caused a diplomatic incident with the Government of Canada and was condemned by Canadian Prime Minister [[Lester B. Pearson]], saying that "Canadians do not need to be liberated".<ref>{{cite web|title=Prime Minister Pearson stands up to de Gaulle|url=http://www.cbc.ca/archives/categories/politics/prime-ministers/lester-b-pearson-from-peacemaker-to-prime-minister/standing-up-to-de-gaulle.html|website=CBC Digital Archives|access-date=December 20, 2014}}</ref> In France, though many were sympathetic to the cause of [[Quebec nationalism]], de Gaulle's speech was criticized as a breach of protocol.

==Background==
[[File:Charles de Gaulle-1963.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|Charles de Gaulle, 1963]]
Even before his arrival, the [[Government of Canada|Canadian federal government]] had been concerned about President de Gaulle's visit. Earlier that year, the French government had not sent a high-level representative to the funeral service for the [[Governor General of Canada]], [[Georges Vanier]].<ref name="Thomson 1988pp188-9">{{harvnb|Thomson|1988|pp=188–189}}</ref> This attracted notice in Canada, as Vanier and his wife, [[Pauline Vanier|Pauline]], had been personal friends of de Gaulle since 1940, when the latter was in exile in London, England.<ref name="Thomson 1988pp188-9"/> In April, de Gaulle did not attend the 50th anniversary ceremonies commemorating the Canadian victory at [[Vimy Ridge]].<ref name="Vimy Ridge 1967">{{cite news| last=Harvey| first=Allen| title= Phillip {{sic|amou|ng|nolink=y}} 15,000 at Vimy but not Charles De Gaulle| newspaper = The Globe and Mail| date=April 10, 1967| location=Toronto| pages=1, 17}}</ref> So worried was the Pearson government about potential interference of France in domestic affairs that the Canadian [[Secretary of State for External Affairs (Canada)|Secretary of State for External Affairs]], [[Paul Martin Sr.|Paul Martin]], was dispatched to visit de Gaulle in Paris to mend the two countries' relationship. The ''[[Montreal Gazette]]'' speculated in 2012—45&nbsp;years after the speech—that de Gaulle was still annoyed over a perceived slight from World War II-era Canadian Prime Minister [[William Lyon Mackenzie King|Mackenzie King]]'s slow recognition of the new French government in late summer 1944.<ref name="DeGaulle's Speech 45-years later">{{cite news|last=Kalbfleisch|first=John|title=Second Draft: De Gaulle's Montreal speeches a study in contrast|url=https://www.pressreader.com/canada/montreal-gazette/20120714/283433483646927|access-date=April 7, 2023|newspaper=The Gazette|date=July 13, 2012}}</ref>

In the spring of 1966, as part of the Expo 67 diplomatic protocols, de Gaulle and all world leaders whose countries had an exhibit at the fair were invited to visit Canada during the spring and summer of 1967.<ref name="Berton 302-303">{{harvnb|Berton|1997|pp=302–303}}</ref> A few months later, de Gaulle was also sent a separate invitation to visit Quebec by [[Premier of Quebec|Quebec premier]] [[Daniel Johnson, Sr.|Daniel Johnson]].<ref name="Berton 302-303"/> De Gaulle, as a visiting head of state, should have arrived in the Canadian capital of [[Ottawa]], as would be conventional protocol. Instead, he took the time to sail to the French islands of [[Saint Pierre and Miquelon|Saint-Pierre and Miquelon]] with the French navy's Mediterranean flagship, the cruiser ''[[French cruiser Colbert (C611)|Colbert]]'', so that he could arrive in [[Quebec City]], the capital city of the province of Quebec.<ref name= "Berton (1997)">{{harvnb|Berton|1997|pp=300–312}}</ref> There, de Gaulle was cheered enthusiastically, while the new governor general, [[Roland Michener]], was booed by the same crowd when the [[Canadian royal symbols#Verbal and musical symbols|viceregal salute]] was played at his arrival.<ref name="De Gaulle lands">{{cite news| title=Quebec Gives De Gaulle, Warm Reserved Welcome| newspaper = The Globe and Mail| date=July 24, 1967| author=Quebec Bureau| location=Toronto| pages=1, 10}}</ref> In his speech, de Gaulle spoke of his country's "evolving" ties with Quebec, hinting at his support for Quebec sovereignty.<ref name="Quebec City speech">{{cite news| last=MacKenzie| first=Robert| title=De Gaulle Boosts 'Quebec-First' Mood| newspaper=The Toronto Daily Star| date=July 24, 1967| page=4| edition=All-Star}}</ref>

==Speech==
On July 15, before boarding the ''Colbert'', de Gaulle told Xavier Deniau: "They will hear me over there, it will make waves!"<ref name="Thomson 1988" /> He also confided to his son-in-law General [[Alain de Boissieu]] that: "I am going to strike a strong blow. Things are going to get hot. But it is necessary. It is the last chance to rectify the cowardice of France."<ref name="Thomson 1988" />

[[File:De Gaule 13a 19670624 3543 2383.jpg|thumb|right|General de Gaulle on the Chemin du Roy,<ref>{{cite web |author1=Samy Mesli, historien |title=Charles de Gaulle au Québec 24 juillet 1967 |url=https://degaulle.fondationlionelgroulx.org/voyage-24-juillet-chemin-du-roy.html |website=Fondation Lionel-Groulx, 2017—2018 |publisher=Charles de Gaulle au Québec en 1967 |access-date=6 August 2023 |language=fr}}</ref> [[Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade#Photos|Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade]], 1967]]
On July 24, de Gaulle arrived in Montreal and was driven up the ''[[Chemin du Roy]]'' to [[Montreal City Hall]], where Mayor [[Jean Drapeau]] and Premier Johnson waited. De Gaulle was not scheduled to speak that evening, but the crowd chanted for him; he told Drapeau: "I have to speak to those people who are calling for me". According to a number of personal interviews with high-ranking French officials, as well as documents he uncovered,  scholar [[Dale C. Thomson]] wrote that de Gaulle's statement was planned, and that he used it when the opportunity presented itself.<ref name = "Thomson 1988">{{harvnb|Thomson|1988|p=199}}</ref>

[[File:Montreal-Canada5884.JPG|thumb|upright=0.7|[[Montreal City Hall]]'s balcony where De Gaulle gave his speech.]]
De Gaulle stepped out onto the balcony to give a short address to the assembled masses which was also broadcast live on radio. In his speech he commented that his drive down the banks of the [[Saint Lawrence River]], lined as it had been with cheering crowds, reminded him of his triumphant return to Paris after its [[Liberation of Paris|Liberation]] from Nazi Germany. The speech appeared to conclude with the words {{lang|fr|"Vive Montréal ! Vive le Québec !"}} ("Long live Montreal! Long live Quebec!"), but he then added, {{lang|fr|"Vive le Québec libre ! Vive, vive, vive le Canada français ! Et vive la France !"}} ("Long live free Quebec! Long live, long live, long live French Canada! And long live France!"),<ref name=cbc>{{cite news
 |last        = Depoe
 |first       = Norman
 |title       = 'Vive le Québec libre !'
 |work        = Newsmagazine
 |department  = On This Day
 |publisher   = CBC News
 |date        = July 24, 1967
|url         = http://www.cbc.ca/archives/categories/politics/language-culture/language-culture-general/vive-le-quebec-libre.html
 |access-date  = July 24, 2012
|archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20120501220930/http://www.cbc.ca/archives/categories/politics/language-culture/language-culture-general/vive-le-quebec-libre.html
 |archive-date = May 1, 2012
|url-status     = dead
 |df          = mdy-all
}}
</ref> whereupon the crowd roared with approval, especially after hearing, {{lang|fr|"Vive le Québec libre !"}}.

==Reaction==
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:General Charles De Gaulle at Expo 67 e000996503.jpg|thumb|A day after his "''Vive le Québec Libre!''" speech, Charles De Gaulle attracts a crowd at Montreal's [[Expo 67]] on July 25, 1967.]] -->
This statement, coming from the French head of state, was considered a serious breach of [[diplomatic protocol]].<ref name="DeGaulle Flies Home">{{cite news
  | last      = Gray
  | first     = Walter
  | title     = Pearson Rebukes Him—Now&nbsp;... De Gaulle Going Home
  | newspaper = The Toronto Daily Star
  | date      = July 26, 1967
| pages     = 1–2
  | quote     = 3-Star Edition}}
</ref><ref name="40-years later CBC">{{cite news
 |author      = Canadian Press
 |title       = 'Vive le Québec' libre Thrust Quebec onto International Stage
 |publisher   = CBC News
 |date        = July 24, 2007
|url         = https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/vive-le-qu%C3%A9bec-libre-thrust-quebec-onto-international-stage-1.641801
 |access-date  = July 25, 2012
|archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20130309031225/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/story/2007/07/24/qc-vivelequebeclibrea.html
 |archive-date = March 9, 2013
|url-status     = live
 |df          = mdy-all
}}
</ref> It emboldened the Quebec sovereignty movement, and produced tensions between the leadership of the two countries.<ref name = "40-years later CBC"/> The crowd's reaction to de Gaulle's phrase was emotional and it sparked controversy with many English Canadians afterwards, as they were outraged at the implied threat to Canada's [[territorial integrity]].<ref name="DeGaulle Flies Home" /> [[Prime Minister of Canada|Canadian Prime Minister]] [[Lester B. Pearson]] rebuked de Gaulle with an official statement, delivered to the French Embassy on July 25, and read on national television that evening.<ref name="Pearson rebukes De Gaulle">{{cite news
 | last = Gillan
 | first = Michael
 | title = Words Unacceptable to Canadians: De Gaulle Rebuked by Pearson
 | newspaper = The Globe and Mail
 | date = July 26, 1967
| location = Toronto
 | pages = 1, 4}}
</ref>  He said "The people of Canada are free. Every province in Canada is free. Canadians do not need to be liberated. Indeed, many thousands of Canadians gave their lives in two world wars in the [[liberation of France]] and other European countries."<ref name="Pearson rebukes De Gaulle"/>

A media and diplomatic uproar ensued thereafter, which resulted in de Gaulle cutting short his visit to Canada.<ref name=ce>{{cite encyclopedia
 |title       = De Gaulle and 'Vive le Québec Libre'
 |encyclopedia        = The Canadian Encyclopedia
 |year        = 2012
 |url         = https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/de-gaulle-and-vive-le-quebec-libre-feature
 |access-date  = July 24, 2012
|archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20120119182931/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/PrinterFriendly.cfm?Params=A1ARTFET_E53
 |archive-date = January 19, 2012
|url-status     = live
 |df          = mdy-all
}}
</ref> The day after the speech, de Gaulle visited Expo 67 and hosted a banquet at the French pavilion. On July 26, instead of continuing his visit on to Ottawa, where he was scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Pearson, he decided to return to France on a French military jet.<ref name = "Busby 2008">{{harvnb|Busby|2008|p=159}}</ref><ref name="Expo and departure">{{cite news |last= Gorrell |first= David |title= Ceremony at Airport Brief but Correct |newspaper= The Globe and Mail |date= July 27, 1967 |location= Toronto |page= 1}}</ref>

The newly appointed Canadian Minister of Justice, [[Pierre Trudeau]], publicly wondered what the French reaction would have been if a Canadian Prime Minister shouted, "[[Brittany]] to the [[Breton people|Bretons]]".<ref name = ce/>  From then on, de Gaulle remained unimpressed by Trudeau, saying {{lang|fr|"Nous n'avons aucune concession, ni même aucune amabilité, à faire à M. Trudeau, qui est l'adversaire de la chose française au Canada."}}  ("We have not one concession, nor even any courtesy, to extend to Mr. Trudeau, who is the adversary of the French cause in Canada.")<ref name=vigile>{{cite web
 |last        = Chartier
 |first       = Jean
 |title       = De Gaulle s'était adressé aux Québécois dès 1940
 |publisher   = vigile.net
 |date        = July 23, 1997
|url         = http://archives.vigile.net/ds-degaulle/docs/chartier-1940.html
 |access-date  = July 24, 2012
|archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20130627020221/http://archives.vigile.net/ds-degaulle/docs/chartier-1940.html
 |archive-date = June 27, 2013
|quote       = Note that the phrase "''la chose française''" is incapable of direct translation into English.
 |url-status     = dead
 |df          = mdy-all
}}
</ref> De Gaulle was also heavily criticized by a large part of the French media for his breach of international protocol, in particular by ''[[Le Monde]]''.<ref name="French Media Reaction">{{cite news
 | last = Spicer
 | first = Keith
 | title = Paris Perplexed by De Gaulle's Quebec Conduct
 | newspaper = The Globe and Mail
 | date = July 27, 1967
| location = Toronto
 | page = 23}}
</ref>

Meanwhile, to members of the Quebec sovereignty movement, the speech was viewed as a watershed moment.<ref name = "40-years later CBC"/> Occurring soon after the [[Quiet Revolution]], and taking into account the low economic and political state of [[French Canadian]]s at the time, the support of a foreign head of state seemed to add credibility to the movement in the eyes of many, including future Quebec premier [[René Lévesque]].<ref name="Levesque on Brinkmanship">{{cite news
 | last      = Block
 | first     = Irwin
 | title     = De Gaulle's Speech Masterly Mrinkmanship, Says Levesque
 | newspaper = The Toronto Daily Star
 | date      = July 24, 1967
| page      = 4
 | quote     = All-Star Edition}}
</ref><ref name="10-years later, Lévesque">{{cite news
 | title      = Levesque Pays Tribute to Charles de Gaulle
 | url        = https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=d1RVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=gT4NAAAAIBAJ&dq=charles%20de%20gaulle%20vive%20le%20quebec%20libre%20speech%201967&pg=3782%2C11903
 | access-date = July 25, 2012
| newspaper  = The Leader-Post
 | date = November 1, 1977
| agency     = Reuters
 | location   = Regina, Saskatchewan
 | page       = 2}}
</ref>

On the flight home from Montreal, de Gaulle told René de Saint-Légier de la Saussaye—his diplomatic counsellor—that the event was "a historical phenomenon that was perhaps foreseeable but it took a form that only the situation itself could determine. Of course, like many others I could have got away with a few polite remarks or diplomatic acrobatics, but when one is General de Gaulle, one does not have recourse to such expedients. What I did, I had to do it."<ref name="Thomson 1988 p243">{{harvnb|Thomson|1988|p=243}}</ref>

== Aftermath ==
The French president's trip and speech triggered an unprecedented Franco-Canadian crisis. The federal Canadian government accused the French president of interfering in its internal affairs. Relations between the two countries would not improve until after de Gaulle's resignation in 1969.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Spicer |first=Keith |date=27 July 1967 |title=Paris Perplexed by De Gaulle's Quebec Conduct |work=The Globe and Mail |pages=23}}</ref>

In February 1969, de Gaulle visited [[Brittany]], during which, in [[Quimper]], he declaimed a stanza of a poem written by his uncle (also called [[Charles de Gaulle (poet)|Charles de Gaulle]]) in the [[Breton language]], expressing devotion to Breton culture.<ref>{{cite web |first= Charles |last= de Gaulle |url= https://mediaclip.ina.fr/en/i00012915-speech-by-de-gaulle-in-breton.html |via= French National Audiovisual Institute (INA) |title= Speech by de Gaulle in Breton  |language= fr}}</ref> The speech followed a series of crackdowns on [[Breton nationalism]] and de Gaulle had been accused of double standards for, on the one hand, demanding a free Quebec, while on the other oppressing the [[Breton Liberation Front|liberation movement in Brittany]].<ref name="Ellis 1993">{{harvnb|Ellis|1993|p=62}}</ref> During this Quimper speech, he responded to this accusation by telling his listeners that Brittany was free and had been freed by Bretons and other French forces during the [[Liberation of France|Liberation]].<ref>{{cite web |first= Charles |last= de Gaulle |url= https://mediaclip.ina.fr/en/i00012915-speech-by-de-gaulle-in-breton.html |via= French National Audiovisual Institute (INA) |title= Allocution du Général de Gaulle à Quimper |trans-title= Speech by de Gaulle in Breton|language= fr}}</ref>

==Legacy==
[[File:De Gaulle Québec 1997.jpg|thumb|387x387px|Statue of General de Gaulle in Quebec, Cours du Général de Montcalm.]]
A statue of de Gaulle was unveiled in Quebec in July 1997, on the thirtieth anniversary of his visit. On its plinth is an inscription extracted from a speech he delivered at an official dinner the evening before his appearance on the balcony for the Montreal City Hall:
{{Quote box|width=22em|align=left|quote=Charles de Gaulle (1890-1970) Président de la République française de 1958 à 1969<br> ''On assiste ici à l’avènement d’un peuple qui dans tous les domaines veut disposer de lui-même et prendre en main ses destinées.''
(''Here we are present at the birth of a people who desire to be in complete control of their interests with full responsibility for their own destiny.'')|source=Charles de Gaulle, Québec, le 23 juillet 1967
}}
_____

==See also==
{{Portal|Canada|France}}
* [[Canada–France relations]]
* [[Gaullism]]
* [[History of Quebec]]
* [[List of speeches]]
* [[Rassemblement pour l'Indépendance Nationale]]
* [[Quebec sovereignty movement#France]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book 
  | last        = Berton
  | first       = Pierre
  | author-link  = Pierre Berton
  | title       = [[1967: The Last Good Year]]
  | publisher   = Doubleday Canada
  | year        = 1997
  | location    = Toronto
  | isbn        = 0-385-25662-0}}
* {{cite book 
  | last = Busby
  | first = Brian
  | author-link = Brian Busby
  | title = Great Canadian Speeches: Words: Words that Shaped a Nation
  | publisher = Capella
  | year = 2008
  | location = London
  | isbn = 978-1-84193-957-5}}
* {{cite book 
  | last = Ellis
  | first = Peter Berresford
  | author-link = Peter Berresford Ellis
  | title = The Celtic Dawn: A History of Pan Celticism
  | publisher = Constable
  | year = 1993
  | location = London
  }}
* {{cite book 
  | last = Peyrefitte
  | first = Alain
  | author-link = Alain Peyrefitte
  | title = C'était de Gaulle, tome 3
  | publisher = éditions de Fallois-Fayard
  | year = 2000
  | location = Paris
  | language = fr
  | isbn = 9782213644912}}
* {{cite book 
  | last = Taillez
  | first = Felix de
  | title = »Amour sacré de la Patrie« – de Gaulle in Neufrankreich. Symbolik, Rhetorik und Geschichtskonzept seiner Reden in Québec 1967
  | publisher = Utz
  | year = 2011
  | location = Munich
  | language = de, fr
  | url = http://www.utzverlag.de/shop.php?bn=44073 
  | isbn = 978-3-8316-4073-7}}
* {{cite book 
  | last = Thomson
  | first = Dale C.
  | author-link = Dale C. Thomson
  | title = Vive le Québec Libre
  | publisher = Deneau Publishers
  | year = 1988
  | location = Toronto
  | isbn = 0-88879-151-8}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
*[http://archives.radio-canada.ca/politique/provincial_territorial/clips/1048/ Video of the whole speech on SRC.ca] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081024200703/http://archives.radio-canada.ca/politique/provincial_territorial/clips/1048/ |date=October 24, 2008 }}
*[http://www.ina.fr/video/CAF86014729/80-heures-au-quebec-de-gaulle-video.html Longer video of the visit, starting with the arrival of the "Colbert"]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20040808004506/http://www.charles-de-gaulle.org/article.php3?id_article=128 De Gaulle and Quebec] {{in lang|fr}}
{{Charles de Gaulle}}{{Quebec sovereignty movement}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vive Le Quebec Libre}}
[[Category:Presidency of Charles de Gaulle]]
[[Category:Speeches by heads of state]]
[[Category:1967 in Canadian politics]]
[[Category:French words and phrases]]
[[Category:Quebec political phrases]]
[[Category:Canada–France relations]]
[[Category:International incidents]]
[[Category:1967 in international relations]]
[[Category:1967 in Quebec]]
[[Category:1967 speeches]]
[[Category:Quebec sovereignty movement]]
[[Category:Speeches by Charles de Gaulle]]
[[Category:Expo 67]]
[[Category:Premiership of Lester B. Pearson]]
[[Category:July 1967 in Canada]]