Emile Bilodeau, considered by some to be insufficiently united because of her opposition to Bill 21 and strong criticism of the Parti Québécois, was shunned from reporters during a traditional media day ahead of a National Day event in the Plains of Abraham.
All the artists participating in Friday evening’s show answered questions from journalists, except him.
Apparently, when the PQ decided not to represent any delegates to the plains, the organizers did not want him to add fuel to the fire of a controversy that had taken on political proportions.
Émile Bilodeau still posed for a group photo on stage, having fun giving everyone a “Bonne Saint-Jean”.
The group Vulgaires Machins will start the ball, in the first part, on Friday, before the big event of the national holiday.
Photo by Stevens LeBlanc/Le Journal de Quebec
“He must be supported”
Behind the scenes, his colleagues showed him their support.
“As a friend that’s for sure [d’Émile]It’s the pocket to see everything beatingThere,” said Kanen, the Innu singer of Ushad Mak Mani-Udenam. “More than ever, I think he needs to be supported and validated by his friends.”
“I salute Émile, declared Pierre Quenders, and salute his genius for putting on this incredible show with artists who represent Quebec yesterday, today and beyond.”
Don’t politicize it
Other artists, however, argued that politics had no place on the national holiday.
“A party cannot be political,” said 2023 spokeswoman Léane Labrèche-Dor, who will read a patriotic speech on Friday evening.
Even Louis-Jean Cormier favors an apolitical celebration. “I don’t like seeing a national holiday as a political platform. I want to celebrate with everyone.”
An extraordinary party
Frédéric Lapointe, leader of the National Movement of Quebecers (MNQ), is not so categorical.
“Most of the time it is important to come together lightly, and there are times when you need to know how to come together even when the hour is serious. Beyond the festive nature of our national holiday, this is a staging of our unity. At the political level, this is not normal,” he argued.
Nevertheless, he realized that MNQ would learn a lesson from this stormy episode.
“We understand that Quebecers love the national holiday. For them, it’s symbolically important. Everyone wants to recognize it, but not everyone agrees on how. These are debates that have happened and will happen. Now is not the time to talk loudly in the kitchen, it’s time to open presents.”
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