Amqui crash “was deliberate”
It’s loin loin de la ville but the incident Monday in Amqui is the big news here. Police say the crash of a pickup truck into people on a sidewalk was a deliberate act and the driver will be charged.
The driver is called Steeve Gagnon and is 38 years old. Two people are dead and nine injured, three of them seriously.
Dominic 17:20 on 2023-03-14 Permalink
I’ve never seen that spelling of Steeve before, but apparently it means “crowned with garland” and is-was very popular in northern France, especially in the 60s and 70s.
Ian Rogers 19:34 on 2023-03-14 Permalink
I have worked with a couple of guys named Steeve, and even one Steeeve. It is very much of a specific generation.
EmilyG 21:36 on 2023-03-14 Permalink
That spelling “Steeve” was mentioned in an article linked in this entry on this blog: https://mtlcityweblog.com/2022/08/06/france-also-has-a-problem-with-kevin/
The Guardian article linked there talks about English names being used by French speakers: “Other American-sounding names found popularity in France in the 1980s and 1990s, such as Jennifer, Bryan, Jordan and Steve, sometimes spelled Steeve.”
That bit of the article stuck in my memory because it was such an odd spelling.
walkerp 09:58 on 2023-03-15 Permalink
I wonder if it is a way to ensure that the e is pronounced in the english mode rather than french where Steve would sound like Stehve.
Kate 10:57 on 2023-03-15 Permalink
walkerp, I’ve also wondered whether that’s the reason for all the Steeves.
jeather 11:37 on 2023-03-15 Permalink
Ok I was curious. Checking the donnees Quebec website, since 1980 and up to 2021 there have been 1461 boys born with the name Steeve or a varation (Steeven, anything containing the characters “steeve”) and 12,122 with the name Steve or a variation (anything containing the characters “steve”). This includes middle names.