‘Region’ is exactly the translation that was offered by the French government after the mini-furor erupted. But of course, the cynical among us only thought they may have simply been backtracking after the fact…

Il faut aussi se rendre compte des différences entre les québécois et les francophones dans le reste du Canada; il y a de très grandes disparités linguistiques mais aussi culturelles. I had to laugh at your prime minister’s speech in Quebec City last week, for its 400th birthday celebrations. After stating that he did not want to say anything that could potentially damage Franco-Canadian relations, he made the mistake of referring to Quebec as a “pays”; the ensuing kerfuffle over how to translate that word into English has been most amusing. For many, it echoed de Gaulle’s famous (and exceptionally controversial) “Vive le Québec libre” of 1967. So much for avoiding conflict!