Bells ring out for Quebec City's 400th birthday
Bells rang out across Canada Thursday to mark the founding of Quebec City, at the exact time that French explorer Samuel de Champlain is thought to have landed on these shores 400 years ago.


QUEBEC CITY (AFP) - More than 600 parishes, municipalities and others across the country marked the anniversary with a ringing of bells at 11:00 am (1500 GMT), when Champlain is believed to disembarked at the mouth of the Saint Lawrence seaway.

"The seeds sewn here 400 years ago have flowered into a magnificent city, a confident and proud Quebec nation and a Canada that is strong