Quebec concerned that Paul McCartney will “bring back painful memories of our Conquest”

French Canadians are upset about Paul McCartney performing in Quebec City as part of 400th anniversary celebrations, because “The presence of [his] English-language music on the most majestic part of Battlefields Park, as beautiful as it might be, can’t help but bring back painful memories of our Conquest.”

The quote is from a letter endorsed by Parti Québécois Members of the National Assembly, and part of a push to have McCartney sing in French at the concert.

The letter asks McCartney to use his performance to make a plea for the sovereignty of the Quebec people and asks McCartney to show the same sensitivity to “the people of French Quebec” as he has shown to “the fate of the seals.”

Better still, one of the two Parti Québécois Members said McCartney’s presence reflects a “Canadianization” of the anniversary celebrations.

According to the National Post, not all French Canadians are raving lunatics, with Jean Charest, the Quebec Premier, say that the people involved should be embarrassed: “Nobody criticizes Céline Dion for singing in Paris, Munich, England or elsewhere on the planet,” he said.