The inauguration from Quebec

It is probably no surprise that French-Quebecers watched the inauguration on TV at least as much as anyone else, and probably more than a lot.

The excitement here has been palpable. Most of the local news media have been devoting their attention to the United States almost exclusively for the past week. They have had chroniclers all over the place, not only in Washington, but in Alabama, Georgia, California, Indiana. Not only covering events, but actually going out in the streets, in the trailer parks, in the baptist churches to try to bring Quebecers a sense of what this inauguration means to the whole variety of American society. Even hockey chroniclers have made a pause in their chronicling (even though the Canadiens are playing tonight) to comment on the festivities (and, believe me, that's big).

The reaction of people to the inauguration hasn't really surfaced yet, obviously. I'd expect some to be amused at the repeated invokation of God (Quebec isn't all that atheist, but it is decidedly secular - God isn't someone you invoke in relation to public office), and probably some disappointed.

We will see.

EDIT: This may not make much sense to people who do not know Quebec much, but politicians usually fight losing battles for news space with hockey in the province. Bush's final address was (and this was caricatured by our own media) second fiddle to even rumor of a possible trade involving the Canadiens in the last few weeks.

Today, there was a hockey game, and yet the medias are barely paying it any attention. More than that: it was the hockey chroniclers and the after-game shows that actually devoted time to Obama. Outside the United States altogether.

That's how closely we've been following all this.