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In Thursday’s French-language debate, it won’t only be about what federal party leaders say. It’ll also be about how they say it.

A second or two of hesitation while searching for a word in French could give opponents an edge. Constant verb and gender mistakes could be jarring for viewers who are native French speakers.

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We asked two experts to weigh in on how well federal leaders speak the language of Molière.

Benoît Melançon is the director of the Université de Montréal’s French literature department. Guy Lachapelle is a Concordia University political-science professor.

The grade estimates were provided by Lachapelle for comparison purposes.

Gilles Duceppe — 10/10

Melançon: A francophone, his French is very good but he sometimes switches between the types of French he speaks. “Sometimes he takes the position of an elder statesman who has to speak well because he’s in an important position, and at other times he seems to say to himself, ‘I have to be closer to voters so I’ll speak in a more popular way.’ ” It’s not uncommon for Quebecers to speak proper and colloquial French, depending on the context.