The Francophonie Summit, in which François Legault and Justin Trudeau are participating, will take place this year in a superb castle built in the 16th century.e century. Quebec contributed $2 million to the renovation of this majestic place in the suburbs of Paris.
Indeed, dignitaries will gather this Friday, October 4 at the Cité internationale de la langue française, located in the Château de Villers-Cotterêts, formerly the luxurious hunting lodge of King François 1st, then on Saturday at the Grand Palais, in Paris.
It was also in this castle that the monarch signed an order to impose French in administrative and legal acts, and no longer Latin.
After being abandoned from 2014, the place was renovated at great expense under the leadership of French President Emmanuel Macron.
$316 million renovations
The French state invested 210 million euros (approximately CAN$316 million) to renovate this architectural gem which was falling into “ruins” and make it a cultural center dedicated to the French language and French-speaking cultures.
The scale of the sum invested makes it “President Macron’s second largest cultural project after Notre-Dame de Paris”, reported AFP during its inauguration in October 2023.
Surprisingly, Quebec has also invested in the restoration of the sites.
The Quebec government granted $2 million to the project. In exchange, a room called “Espace Québec” was set up in the old castle.
A daily report Duty also reported that the Belle Province was highlighted in the permanent exhibition, in particular thanks to an extract from the poem Speak White by Quebecer Michèle Lalonde.
In the Legault government, it is explained that the financial contribution was offered by the Ministry of the French Language in order to mark the “leadership” of Quebec “with France in the protection and promotion of the French language”.
In an interview on TV5 Monde on Wednesday, Prime Minister François Legault stressed that Quebec’s contribution constituted a “strong symbol”.
A first in 33 years
This will be the first time in 33 years that the International Organization of the Francophonie has held its Summit in France. Quebec hosted the event in 1987 and 2008.
As the OIF indicates on its website, the summit will close an exceptional year for France, after the holding of the Olympic Games on 80e anniversary of the Normandy landings and the liberation of the country, as well as the imminent reopening of Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral, ravaged by flames in 2019.
A prestigious castle
- A jewel of the Renaissance, in 1539, Francis I signed the ordinance by which French became the official language of law and administration.
- Becoming a national asset during the Revolution, it was transformed into a begging depot by Napoleon, both prison and hospice.
- It gradually fell into disuse, until it was completely abandoned in 2014.
- After four years of construction, the Château de Villers-Cotterêts will be reborn in November 2023, becoming the International City of the French Language
Source – National Monuments Center
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