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French Immigrant Fails French Test For Permanent Residency In Quebec

French Immigrant Fails French Test For Permanent Residency In Quebec

Imagine how hard it must be for people who don't speak French as a first language

Tom Wood

Tom Wood

An actual French man failed a French test for immigrants to the Canadian province of Quebec, asking a whole load of questions about how difficult it must be for people who aren't natural French speakers.

Thirty-nine-year-old Yohan Flaman is a truck driver from Limoges in France and moved over to the French-Canadian province in 2018 as part of the Quebec Experience Program.

As you can probably imagine, he wasn't too bothered about the fact that he had to take a French language test set by the Department of Immigration, Francisation and Integration to seal the deal.

However, despite the fact that he's been speaking French for his entire life, he still managed to fail the test.

It's the only language he speaks, with the exception of a little bit of English that he learned in school and on truck-driving escapades around the United States.

The flag of Quebec.
PA

Speaking on Sunday, Flaman told The Montreal Gazette: "If I failed it, when I'm French, I can understand how someone who is Mexican, who doesn't speak French, could fail.

"I think it's ridiculous."

Not only that, but he also pointed out that when he arrived in Quebec he needed to get a Quebecois professional driving licence in order to continue his work.

He had to take a test for that - which was entirely in French, and he passed it.

So, how tough must the immigration French test be?

The Quebec Experience Program is aimed at getting foreign students and workers that are already living in the province their permanent residency.

It was overhauled by the Coalition Avenir Quebec government last year after an earlier attempt at reform back in 2019 was unsuccessful.

While Flaman isn't against the idea of requiring immigrants to the province to have a working level of French, he doesn't understand why it needs to be so hard that even someone who is fluent in French and... you know, actually from France should find it so difficult to pass.

Yohan Flaman.
Yohan Flaman

He was eventually found out when it came to an oral comprehension portion of the exam.

During that segment, anyone taking the test must listen to and analyse a recorded conversation from various points of view, including the political content of the conversation.

It's a lot to consider, even for a native Frenchman.

Flaman added: "We're all human. We have different levels of concentration,

"Anyone can make a mistake."

He's definitely not wrong there, that's for sure.

Featured Image Credit: Yohan Flaman

Topics: World News, France, Weird, Canada