La relation Québec-Paris-Ottawa et la création de l'Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (1960-2005)

Abstract

The French geographer Onésime Reclus invented the term «francophonie» in 1880, but it was only in 1986, a century later, that the first Francophone Summit was held. These gatherings of French-speaking countries had been desired since the 1960s by the President of Senegal, Léopold Sédar Senghor, by the President of Tunisia, Habib Bourguiba, and by the President of Niger, Hamani Diori. The founding of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie fell victim during the Quiet Revolution to the strained political relations between the governments of Quebec and Ottawa. This article retraces the history of the Paris-Quebec-Ottawa triangular relationship from the establishment of the Agence de coopération culturelle et technique to the Mulroney-Johnson agreement of 1985 which allowed Quebec during the Summits to become a decision-making party.