The French demanded that all government offices be bilingual and all road
signs,, yet their province is all french and they do not observe the
bilingual practice,,, while visiting quebec, it is a well known fact that if
you only speak english, you will most noticeably be treated rude and
improperly,,,

I could go on but I don't feel like a rant at the moment,,, let someone
else pick it up from here,,,,


When my daughter was getting her masters at McGill (in Montreal), there was a
law on the books that required all salespeople to greet all customers in
French. After the greeting, the salesperson could switch to English (or some
other language) if the customer was unable to speak or uncomfortable conducting
business in French.

It was also illegal to conduct business in English if the customer preferred to
speak French.

Pretty sneaky technique to assure that the
Francophones had an advantage over Anglophones when interviewing for jobs as
department store clerks.

Based solely upon drive-by comparisons of
some "French" residential neighborhoods and some "English" neighborhoods, I
developed an impression that at least historically the Anglophonic have
dominated the economic and social framework in Montreal, while the Francophonic
have been runner's-up.

It does make for some interesting culture, despite the turf war tensions. I've
been to places I could not live under any circumstance, but I could get along
comfortably in Montreal.