Mauritius: a little Québec on the other side of the world?

I have a clear memory of my father pointing out, during Expo 67, that while passing by the small Mauritius pavilion, that the island was like Quebec, first colonized by the French and then the English, and that its inhabitants still spoke our language. When it came time to plan my trip, visiting Mauritius was a must.

After six weeks in an English-speaking environment, as soon as I step onto the plane I'm greeted by a series of "bonjours," without "hi,". A "I love your accent" quickly follows. I almost feel at home. Once seated, the bilingual French-English signage evokes a feeling of emotion.

I had read that 70% of the population there speaks a French-derived creole, which means they are more comfortable in our language than in English. Chatting with my seatmate, I learned that they also inherited the British political system. Obviously, the climate and geography are the complete opposite of our winters. However, unlike the Polynesians, the formal "vous" (you) is the norm as the French, as a matter of respect.

As Yvon Deschamps so aptly put it, we don't want to know it, we want to see it. Well, watch Shiva explain it all in his own unique way.

https://youtu.be/faSq-b279xc?si=wJ-sT7DnJD2gfjpb