Leading French newsmagazine Paris Match is celebrating Quebec, shining a spotlight on La Belle Province for its French readers around the world.

The new issue of the flashy weekly magazine is a bit softer and more personal than typical hard-news issues, editor in chief Olivier Royan said.

The goal was to shed light on some remarkable people and achievements in the province, Royan — in Montreal to promote the issue — told CBC News on Thursday.

"French people know quite a few things about Quebec," he said. "There is the dream about Quebec. There is this enthusiasm about the energy of the people. [The French] see sometimes actors, they see singers on French television, but the rest is quite unknown."

About 35 pages are dedicated to Quebec stories. They include a portrait of a French doctor living in northern Quebec with the Inuit and an examination of the province's successful post-secondary schools, which are drawing an increasing number of students from France, currently grappling with education reform.

Though "all societies have their problems, there is this energy [in Quebec]," Royan said.

"We have a feeling also that you don't take yourselves so seriously as we do — and that we need greatly in France these days."

Also timed to coincide with 400th anniversary celebrations of the founding of Quebec City, the new issue of Paris Match hits newsstands in 120 countries on Friday.