The announcement of the death of author, journalist and essayist Denise Bombardier came as a bombshell for Prime Minister François Legault. The politician paid tribute to him in a 5pm interview with TVA Nouvelles.
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“I only met Denise two months ago. She seemed in good shape, full of energy, and besides, knowing that she died is like the opposite of Denise Bombardier. She was a woman who had a zest for life, that’s true [c’est] sad news,” he recalled.
The Prime Minister enjoyed debating and arguing with the Quebec columnist, always conducting his discussions with respect for others.
“She really was a woman who liked to have fun, an extremely intelligent woman [même] when it was always full-bodied when we had conversations,” he said in an exclusive interview with Paul Larocque.
When asked about the many facets of Denise Bombardier’s unique personality, François Legault wanted to highlight her contribution to the public debate in both Quebec and France.
“She was able to reach people even though she was a great intellectual […] “She was able to write in Le Journal de Montréal and reach out to people,” he said, highlighting his notable passage on Bernard Pivot’s show in which she castigated the practices of a “pedophile” writer.
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Politically, the Quebec politician agreed with many of the journalist and author’s positions.
“We often came together, including on Quebec, nationalism and the integration of new immigrants. In her opinion, we should not be ashamed to ask newcomers to speak French and adopt our values. So she took full responsibility, even if many people didn’t like it at times,” emphasizes the head of government of Quebec.
The PM has been called to pay tribute to Denise Bombardier and wants Quebecers to remember her as an “extraordinarily brilliant woman”.
Photo archives, Chantal Poirier
“Really [elle était] very, very above average. Also a woman who was funny, who could have fun in life. Then [c’était] “a great lover of the French language and of Quebec,” he confessed, calling for the immortalization of the public figure.
“We’re going to look at how we, all Quebecers, can remember this great Quebecer.”
*Watch the full interview with François Legault in the video above*