With Friends Like These: Entangled Nationalisms and the Canada-Quebec-France Triangle, 1944-1970

One of the most enduring images of Quebec's Quiet Revolution is Charles de Gaulle proclaiming "Vive le Qu bec libre " from the balcony of Montreal City Hall in 1967. The French president's provocative act laid bare Canada's unity crisis and has since dominated both anglophone and francophone interpretations of the Canada-Quebec-France triangle in the modern era.

With Friends like These demystifies this cri du balcon by shifting the focus from de Gaulle to the broader domestic and international forces at play. David Meren traces the evolution of Quebec's special relationship with France after the Second World War and reveals that the resulting clash of nationalisms - French, Qu b cois, and Canadian - was fuelled not only by personalities and events but also by the efforts to respond to the power and influence of the United States in an increasingly interconnected world. More than just a herald of Quebec's new place in French international policy, de Gaulle's cri du balcon and its repercussions were the result of concerns on both sides of the Atlantic about the acceleration of a US-dominated globalization.

By seeking to understand, rather than simply condemn, aspects of Quebec, Gaullist, and Canadian nationalism, Meren casts doubt on established interpretations of events and exposes the complexity of a rising international interest in Canadian affairs.

David Meren is an assistant professor in theDépartement d’histoire at the Université de Montréal.