Statement made on 23 April 2009 by Senator Jerahmiel Grafstein (retired)
Hon. Jerahmiel S. Grafstein:
Honourable senators, I rise to mourn the death of France's greatest intellectual and cultural icon, Maurice Druon.
As France's pre-eminent literary figure, Maurice was a lover of all things French and a vitriolic protector of the French language. He railed against colloquialisms and, more recently, against political correctness.
He loved English. He taught in Canada briefly and relished Canada. I was proud to call him a good friend.
He had a mythical career, first as a cadet in the French cavalry school when the Germans invaded France in 1940. Ignoring the orders of Pétain, the Vichy leader, to lay down their arms, he and his school staved off two German divisions for two days in the Loire.
Receiving honours for their heroism, he and his cadets were allowed safe passage to the unoccupied zone of France, the Côte d'Azur. There he met his equally brilliant uncle, the author and musician Joseph Kessel, where they wrote and produced a play.
He became a leader of the French Resistance. In 1942, he escaped to Spain and finally landed in London, where he joined De Gaulle and the Free French.
Asked by the Resistance to write an inspirational song, he and his uncle wrote Le chant des partisans — The song of the partisans — that became the rallying cry of the Resistance.
He wrote the French lyrics, which translated say:
Friend, do you hear the black flight of the crows on our plains?
Friend, do you hear the death cries of a country in chains?
This song was broadcast twice daily over BBC and rivalled La Marseillaise, the French anthem, in popularity.
After the war, he became a prolific writer, creating historical works and novels in quality and quantity not seen since the days of Alexandre Dumas.
In 1966, at the youthful age of 48, he was elected to the Académie française. In 1973, he followed the footsteps of André Malraux and became the Minister of Culture of France, and then a deputy, representing an area in the heart of Paris.
As a staunch protector of the French language, he became secretary perpetual of the Académie française, the pantheon of the French elite in the arts, science and literature.
Once, he called me to convince me to join his efforts to raise funds to fix a leaky roof over Napoleon's tomb at Les Invalides, which I did. I was rewarded with a sparkling dinner at the Académie française, where he hosted me.
One Senate story: I had a disagreement with the former Speaker of the Senate, Maurice Riel, who was also a respected French linguist and expert, and a great lover of French literature. In a speech in the Senate, I quoted Albert Camus. Maurice immediately criticized me for mispronouncing Camus' name because I had not pronounced the final "s." Maurice insisted that I should have pronounced Camus with a spoken "s." We agreed to have the issue arbitrated by Maurice Druon in Paris and so we wrote him a letter. I was pleased that Druon supported my pronunciation.
Maurice Druon loved the English language, praising the speeches of Winston Churchill. He started a controversy when he said some years ago:
French no longer respect the language because they no longer love themselves and no longer loving themselves, they no longer loved what was the instrument of their glory — their language.
So said Maurice Druon.
Maurice Druon was proud of the bilingual nature of Canada and proud that French Canadians had joined in his effort and the effort of his compatriots in the survival of his greatest glory — the French language.
Honourable senators, we will miss him, his wit, his profound knowledge and his pen. While Maurice has passed away, his bright memory, his novels, his words and his friendship will live on to the end of time. Au revoir, cher ami.