The Gaullist attack on Canada, 1967-1997

the long version

What lay behind Charles de Gaulle's "Vive le Quebec libre!" speech in Montreal on 24 July 1967, Philippe Rossillon's activities in New Brunswick, Belgium, and Africa, and the sinking of Greenpeace's Rainbow Warrior in New Zealand in 1985? J.F. Bosher argues that the motivation behind all these incidents was a policy of underhanded imperial ambition on the part of France. In The Gaullist Attack on Canada, he contends that behind the screen of harmless fraternizing of international francophonie, French nationalists have been at work to stimulate French revolutionary nationalism in Quebec and elsewhere. He argues that the Gaullist ideology behind these attempts rests on a set of myths about past events, age-old resentment of the English-speaking nations, and a deep-rooted belief in the superiority of France, its language, and its culture.