BORDEAUX, France, May 10, 2008 (AFP) - Canadian Governor-General Michaelle Jean, a descendant of Haitian slaves, called for "vigiliance against intolerance" Saturday as she marked 160 years since the abolition of slavery in France.
    Jean made her remarks during a visit to Bordeaux, where she was hosted by Alain Juppe, mayor of the French wine capital that was once among Europe's most important former slave ports.
    During a moving speech on the city's waterfront, Jean said her heart was with those who want to "untie the noose of prejudice and to break the chains of injustice, of exclusion and of tyranny".
    "As the great-great grand-daughter of a slave myself, I have come to pay tribute to the memory of millions of Africans (who were victims of) one of the most barbarous crimes against humanity," she said.
    The memory of their suffering should never be allowed to disappear "through the night of time."
    Following a moment's pause for reflection as white flowers were placed in the Garonne river, Juppe -- who recently spent a year teaching at a Montreal university -- recalled Bordeaux's key role in the slave trade.
    "We must have the courage to square up to this terrible part of our heritage," he said, adding that Bordeaux, "like Liverpool," should establish a permament memorial to the victims of slavery.
    Jean's visit has seen her mark the upcoming 400th anniversary of Quebec City's founding alongside French President Nicolas Sarkozy in La Rochelle, also on the Atlantic coast, as well as spending time in Bordeaux.
    Quebec City, capital of Canada's French-speaking province of Quebec, was founded on July 3, 1608 by French explorer Samuel de Champlain. Bordeaux has been twinned with the city for 45 years.
    As governor general, 50-year-old Jean -- a former broadcaster who emigrated to Canada from Haiti in 1968 with her family -- is the representive in Ottawa of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, who doubles as Canada's head of state.