McCartney's free Quebec concert ruffles sovereigntists
Last Updated: Wednesday, July 16, 2008 | 4:32 PM ET
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Several prominent Quebec artists and sovereigntists are complaining about Paul McCartney's highly anticipated concert this coming weekend, accusing the former Beatle of "Canadianizing" the city's 400th birthday celebration.
A group of politicians and artists, including Parti Québécois culture critic Pierre Curzi and actress Pol Pelletier have lent their name to an open letter that denounces McCartney's free July 20 concert on Quebec City's Plains of Abraham.
The open letter's original author – artist Luc Archambault – writes that McCartney's appearance misrepresents the spirit of the 400th anniversary celebrations, which commemorate the fight for the survival of the French language in North America.
The concert reflects a general "Canadianization" of the 400th anniversary celebrations, Archambault concludes.
He expresses his wish that McCartney would invite Quebec folk legend Gilles Vigneault up on stage Sunday night to sing Gens du Pays, Quebec's unofficial anthem.
McCartney's Sunday show is expected to draw between 150,000 and 300,000 people.
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