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English: Renaud Lavoie takes down Paul Bissonnette | Martin St-Louis faces criticism
Charles-Alexis Brisebois
English: Renaud Lavoie takes down Paul Bissonnette | Martin St-Louis faces criticism
Credit: YouTube

What was in the water yesterday? On two separate occasions, the French language made an unexpected appearance in the world of hockey in Quebec.

The case that sparked the most buzz was that of Renaud Lavoie. The TVA Sports reporter saw a clip (on X) from Spittin' Chiclets in which Paul Bissonnette blamed a mistake in an English word on the fact that he is a French Canadian.

And that's when Lavoie replied that he wasn't a French Canadian… while adding that Pierre LeBrun (who must have been wondering what his connection to the story was) was, in fact, one.

I'd say that seeing a man get questioned about his own background didn't exactly go over well. Many people defended him on X, and Lavoie himself pointed out that his parents are French-speaking and that he studied in French when he was younger.

The Ontarian responded to the post in English.

We can imagine that what Lavoie didn't like was seeing French used as an excuse by a guy we never hear speaking French in public.

But never mind that… this isn't exactly the proudest moment of Renaud Lavoie's career. It's just not done, and we can certainly understand the wave of frustration surrounding the issue.

It's worth noting that this wasn't the only French-related incident that sparked discussion yesterday. Coincidence or not, Jérémie Rainville criticized the fact that Martin St-Louis gave clearer answers in English than in French when speaking to the media.

He discussed this with Gino Chouinard yesterday on 98.5 FM.

Rainville aired two clips from yesterday's media session: one where the coach speaks in clichés in French and another where he gives a long, elaborate answer in English.

He's right: the coach's answers are usually more comprehensive in English, which is now the language in which he's most comfortable. We've known this for years.

Is St-Louis just more comfortable in English? Is he more inclined to give good answers when speaking to English-speaking journalists?

He speaks English with his family. His son wasn't able to give an interview in French to La Presse in recent days.

I wonder why Rainville brought this up yesterday, though. Did something happen that made him want to take a stand on that particular day?

It's a valid question.

In a Nutshell

– Max is right.

– Nice.

– Stay tuned.