Sir Paul McCartney performed his greatest hits and spoke French to more than 200,000 fans at a Quebec City concert opposed by nationalists.

The 66-year-old played Beatles, Wings and solo songs in the outdoor concert - part of the 400th anniversary celebrations of French-speaking Quebec.

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Canada's foreign minister quits ... Critics questioned Sir Paul's presence because of Britain's 1760 conquest of New France including Quebec.

Before the concert, Sir Paul said they should "smoke the pipes of peace".

Speaking in a mixture of French and English, he told the crowd: "Bonsoir les Quebecois [Good evening people of Quebec]."

"Je parler seulement un petit peu Francais" - I only speak a little bit of French - "so I will be speaking in English - but I think most of you get it."

He also said: "C'est ma premiere visite a Quebec" - it's my first visit to Quebec - "and it's a great place."

Sir Paul arrived in Quebec City early on Saturday night and was greeted at his hotel by hundreds of fans.

'Pipes of peace'

Concert-goers began arriving early on Sunday at the city's Plains of Abraham for the show.

The plains were the site of the crucial 1759 battle between British General James Wolfe and France's Marquis Louis-Joseph de Montcalm.

In the run-up to the concert - his only scheduled live appearance in North America this year - artists and politicians said his presence in Quebec was inappropriate because of the 18th century British conquest.

Last week, Sir Paul, in an interview with Radio Canada, said: "I think it's time to smoke the pipes of peace and to just, you know, put away your hatchet because I think it's a show of friendship."

He added: "I know people of all nationalities and, hey, I'm friendly with German people and, by that argument, I should never go to Germany or they should never come here."

In 1983, the singer had a hit with his song Pipes of Peace.

(BBC)

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