Since the 1960s’ Quiet Revolution, Quebecois secessionists have advocated for the creation of a separate Quebec nation-state and the preservation of strong French cultural and linguistic ties within the province. Yet French cultural initiatives, such as business language requirements, are often unnecessarily exclusionary towards the province’s anglophone residents, enforcing rigid norms in the name of cultural preservation. However, unlike exclusionary language policies, Quebec’s French educational seduction programs strengthen cultural preservation while respecting both francophone and anglophone autonomy.
Recently, the French Consulate announced a new initiative aptly termed the ‘seduction program,’ designed to increase the accessibility of French education for Quebecois students. The program enables Quebecois students to enroll in French universities at the same tuition rate as French citizens. Additionally, the program streamlines the application process to French universities, allowing students to apply to multiple schools for a modest cost. As of 2019, merely 1,600 Quebec students study in France—a paltry headcount that seduction programs aim to increase.
This program offers a positive counter-model to other Quebec initiatives aiming to preserve French language and culture. Unlike some contemporary policies that promote French language use at the cost of English linguistic accessibility, French educational seduction programs provide Quebec citizens—regardless of their native language—with opt-in opportunities to immerse themselves in French culture.
Given relatively low demonstrated student interest in studying in France, some might argue that the program’s continuation is unjustified. However, in reality, the volume of interest in these programs does not decisively determine their value. Regardless of whether French educational seduction programs are capitalized upon, they serve an important secondary function: The provision of increased cultural agency for the Quebecois people.
Increased autonomy is the core demand of Quebecois secessionists, who view the preservation of French culture as a vessel for autonomy. Providing francophone students with the option to engage in affordable, French-immersive education empowers them to determine their own cultural destinies. This program could offer a substitute for more exclusionary practices—such as proposed French proficiency mandates at universities like McGill— that promote similar aims of French language retention. In short, this seduction program offers the option for Quebecois to embrace French without undermining English linguistic rights.
Of course, each Quebecois student who chooses to pursue higher education in France represents a loss in revenue for Quebec universities. Only five to six per cent of students from Quebec obtain their college degree out of province, so, indeed, it appears that every student gained by French seduction programs is effectively ‘poached’ from the Quebec university system. Yet, major Quebec universities like McGill and Concordia generate the majority of their tuition revenue from international and out-of-province students who //are not// eligible to participate in French seduction programs. Additionally, given that roughly 95 per cent of Quebecois students remain in-province for university, it doesn’t appear that local schools would suffer from the loss of a few resident students to France.
Ultimately, French education programs are a positive opportunity for Quebecers and a net-neutral for universities. Functionally, these programs won’t lead to mass disinvestment from local universities due to their demonstrated lower levels of participation. Rather, these programs bolster provincial cultural autonomy and provide a positive outlet for engagement with French culture. Unlike more typical cultural preservation programs, incentivized education abroad has no exclusionary impact on the province’s English-speaking residents. What little revenue is lost to Quebec universities through these seduction programs seems a small price to pay in exchange for a cultural compromise that honours both francophone and anglophone interests.
