June 8th, 2018
Emmanuel Macron and Philippe Couillard at Pointe-à-Callière
Emmanuel Macron and Philippe Couillard at Pointe-à-Callière : a visit the the very foundation site of Montréal
Pointe-à-Callière had the pleasure and the immense honour to host the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte, as well as the Prime Minister of Québec Philippe Couillard and his wife Suzanne.
During his time in Montréal, Mr Macron expressed the desire to visit the fort de Ville-Marie, a Pointe-à-Callière pavilion and the birthplace of the metropolis. Inaugurated in 2017 for the 375th anniversary of the city, the fort de Ville-Marie preserves the remains of the first settlement which housed French women and men who travelled from La Rochelle to establish Montréal, in 1642. Mr Macron had the opportunity to take note of the great challenges the founders Paul de Chomedey de Maisonneuve and Jeanne Mance were confronted to.
This visit allowed the President of the French Republic to step back in time to the very origins of French presence on Québec and Canadian soil. From the founding gesture and the arrival of 49 French citizens, Montréal has become an open and welcoming metropolis. The French, along with the Native peoples already present on the territory, as well as the numerous immigrants who settled there afterwards, have made of Montréal a city where community life is built into the DNA.
The distinguished guests also stopped by the Mariners' House to have a meal in the magnificient glass pavilion perched on the roof of the building. The space offers an incomparable view of Old Montréal, of the Saint Lawrence River and the Old Port, as well as of the Jacques-Cartier bridge.
