Windsor francophones celebrate 400 years of heritage at city hall

Windsor's francophone community showed its pride with a flag-raising ceremony at City Hall Square Friday, marking 400 years of French presence in Ontario.

"This is important because this is our day," said Gérard Malo, the head of the local chapter of L'Association canadienne-française de l'Ontario (ACFO). "One day a year, we can celebrate our pride of being French-speaking and our sense of belonging to this wide Franco-community."

That day, Malo said, is always Sept. 25.

In 1615, Samuel De Champlain first came to Ontario, exploring the Ottawa Valley, interacting with the Huron community already living there.  

"We celebrate that today while we raise the Franco-Ontarian flag, which was raised at 400 different locations across Ontario," Malo said. "It's important for me because I'm president of ACFO which represents all francophones across Essex County and Chatham-Kent regardless of background."

French settlers first established themselves in the region in 1701 with the settlement of Detroit. By the mid-18th century, they had moved across the south shore into what is now Windsor and Essex County.