Charles Boustany: “I rise today as a native of Lafayette, Louisiana, to pay tribute to the Marquis de Lafayette and the French culture that…”

“I rise today as a native of Lafayette, Louisiana, to pay tribute to the Marquis de Lafayette and the French culture that continues to leave an indelible mark on south Louisiana. It is not by coincidence that my hometown is named after this French hero of America's Revolutionary War. During the Acadian deportation of 1755, thousands of men, women and children were expelled from Nova Scotia. Some returned to France, but many sailed through to the French colony of Louisiana, where, over the centuries, they have established their own unique French-Acadian or what we now call Cajun culture. It is now estimated that there are over 450,000 Acadian descendants in Louisiana alone, and nearly 250,000 claimed French to be their principal language. Last week, I introduced House Resolution 398 to congratulate newly elected French President Nicolas Sarkozy on his recent victory, as well as to recognize the longstanding relationship between the United States and our friends in France.”