Employees and collaborators of the Francos de Montréal festival, as well as former employees, criticized Radio-Canada for the growing presence of English as the internal working language. They testified at meetings in English, despite the presence of Francophones around the table, and at written or spoken instructions sometimes in English only. The celebration of French songs begs for “diversity and inclusion”.
“I left because of that,” said a source who worked for many years as an office worker for Francos de Montréal, formerly FrancoFolies. The celebration is in full swing until Saturday.
Even before American giant Live Nation claimed 49% of Team Spectra in 2020, our source said there were several meetings held in English, even though only one spoke English in the twenties. of people around the table.
” Evenko people [propriétaire de 51 % de l’Équipe Spectra] they rolled their eyes at me when I spoke French at the meeting. “
His testimony about the growing English presence is attested to by current and former employees who have all asked to keep their names secret as they continue to work with the company on it. small middle.
In total, we gathered information from 9 recent workers and former workers of Francos de Montréal.
Instructions to technicians in English only
In emails over the past few days, obtained by Radio-Canada, we discovered that a production coordinator for indoor shows only speaks to his teams in English.
The technicians told us about their discomfort and astonishment. Our bosshe speaks exclusively to us in Englishexcept for a word in French, here and there, said one of them.
One more: I am not bilingual. On set, we speak French, but our communications, we receive them in English.
” Most Francos technicians speak French. They were surprised to receive communications in English […] particularly in the context of the debate in the French language. “
Francos technicians are not union, but evenko is known in the industry for its extensive use of English internally.
They have already submitted contracts to us in English onlysaid Natalie Goyer, president of Local 56 of the International Alliance of Stage Employees (AIEST). We resisthe assured.
Diversity and inclusion are important, the festival says
“Team Spectra values French in all official internal communications, by choice and by law (New window) “, assured the producer of Francos de Montréal, in response to our questions.
At the same time, the company added: We pride ourselves on having the best people in the area, regardless of their background.
In the case of the production coordinator who speaks to his employees in English, Équipe Spectra tells us thathe is fully bilingual, has worked contractually for several years within the organization and we are privileged to rely on his abilities.
” Regardless of the festival, diversity and inclusion not only on stage, but also with its permanent employees and contracts, is part of the success of our events. “
Under what conditions is the meeting held in English as part of Francos? Our professional meetings are conducted in Frenchthe Spectra Team ensures, understands that our English -speaking employees are free to express themselves in their native language.
” Our external written communications are in French, as are our internal written corporate communications. “
Is labor shortage included?
Current festival employees point out that the labor shortage is unknown to the cultural community, particularly in the technical field. Evenko sent people from its English -speaking divisionexplanation by a technician.
There has been a lot of turnover in the industry since the pandemicadds another source inside.
The Spectra Team remembered that the experience and knowledge of the people working with passion and dedication, year after year, remains an important element in presenting the best events for those participating in the festival everywhere.
The company points out that Francos de Montréal has been promoting the song in French since the festival was created. In 2016, the concerts of frenglishcaused a bit of controversy.
On the side of the festival partners, however, we have noticed in recent years a lack of knowledge of French -speaking culture among some interlocutors within the company.
Asked to respond to the English area in his organization, Spectra’s head of programming, Laurent Saulnier, replied: No comment, before dropping the call. He will step down as vice president in September, after 23 years of commitment
Source: Radio-Canada
