I'm sensing that I've uncovered an idiot named Qyd on the Montreal page.

Of course, it's entirely possible that User:The Iraq is wrong, but I don't think so. Can someone name a non-"Western world" French-speaking city that is larger than Montreal?

Greg

Would somewhere like Kinshasa count?

I guess that's what Qyd is thinking of; however, most all of the French-speaking residents of Kinshasa are doing so as a second-language to Lingala. Abidjan would be another example. I guess this pins on the definition of "francophone" or "French-speaking". I would have thought that "as a first language" would be assumed, but maybe it's not.

Could Tokyo or Mexico City just teach all of their residents to say "bon jour", and then claim to be the largest French-speaking city?

Anyhoo... thanks for bringing Kinshasa to my attention. That was a new learning for me.

Greg

Yeah, clearly it was. You know, some places are multilingual, and the 'first language' quibble would just get you puzzled looks. The largest English broadsheet in the world is the Times of India, and those readers aren't all first-language-English people. But - hey! - that doesn't count, right? Anglophone means never having to say anything in a different language!

They might mean Algiers - about 50-50 French & Arabic speakers, but almost all the Arabic speakers also speak French. Whether it's bigger than Montreal I suppose depends where you define the borders - the urban sprawl off the island itself isn't technically part of Montreal

This passage sums it up effectively.

I apologize for suggesting that Qyd was an idiot.

Greg