Jean Drapeau and his real opinions

Jean Drapeau was by no means a nice guy – racist, anti-immigration, and in favour of a heavy-handed Catholic paternalism in government. Le Devoir is digging into the recently opened archive, and pulls no punches in this tart analysis.

Here’s our Jean describing the Main: immigrants “ont transformé la grande artère commerciale de notre ville […] en une dégoûtante foire où quelque viande puante voisine de sales croûtons et où les trottoirs servent trop souvent de poubelles aux fruits et légumes en état de décomposition.”

Anything that wasn’t Catholic and French was dubious in Drapeau’s eyes. You might almost call him a natural CAQ candidate.