French tributes pour in for 'Queen of Diversity'
Jean offers lessons in race ties, citing Canada's approach
Peter O'Neil and L
ucille Hagege, Canwest News Service
Published: Monday, May 12, 2008
Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean continued to receive breathless praise Sunday following a five-day official visit that drew widespread attention here to Canada's approach to multiculturalism.
The French media appear to be trying to outdo each other with lavish praise and flattering comparisons -- starting a week ago with Le Monde's relatively restrained designation of her as Canada's "almost Queen."
Another media outlet called her a beautiful, brainy "icon of Canadian multiculturalism," which was soon outmatched by a writer who said Jean is a cross between Barack Obama and Halle Berry.
Sud Ouest Dimanche, a regional daily newspaper which boasts a readership of one million, pushed the hype to new heights Sunday.
"There is in her an elegant mixture of Lady Diana and Nelson Mandela," stated a profile that called her Canada's "Queen of Diversity."
Jean, on the last day of her tour Saturday, called for heightened sensitivity toward racism during France's national day commemorating the abolition of slavery in 1848.
The great-great-granddaughter of French-owned Haitian slaves, she delivered her speech on race relations in the port city that was at the centre of the lucrative French slave trade.
Jean appeared during her visit to touch a chord with a French society which, according to Canadian historian John Dickinson, has struggled with racism and the challenges of integrating non-whites.
Black rights activist Patrick Lozes, who said last month he hoped Jean would inspire French citizens to recognize the deep racism in this country that blocks five million blacks from advancement, last week called Jean the "Canadian Obama."
But Quebec separatist politicians in Ottawa and Quebec City were apoplectic over Jean's red-carpet treatment, suggesting that Quebec had been humiliated because Premier Jean Charest wasn't here for the main events marking Quebec City's 400th anniversary.
Le Figaro's lavish back-page profile was accompanied by a full-size picture of a stately Jean and French President Nicolas Sarkozy reviewing an honour guard. The profile, which also included a tender close-up shot of
"la Petite Reine du Canada," dwelled on Jean's Haitian roots and her very Canadian approach to diversity.
Jean, described as having "a grand bearing, a sparkling eye, but a voice charged with emotion," made clear that she doesn't believe Canada has fully resolved the challenge of integrating all ethnic groups.
She told Le Figaro she wants to see a "solidarity pact" between all Canadians.
"We must put an end to the narrow- mindedness of the 'each for his own, each for his clan,' and institute a solidarity pact between all the citizens who form today's Canada," she said.
© The Calgary Herald 2008
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