Crazy story out of Montreal, where a woman alleges she was attacked by an STM worker because she filed a complaint over abuse stemming from a broken ticket dispenser.  As the CBC reports, “A Montreal woman said she wants charges pressed against a public transit worker who she says assaulted her and ordered her to ‘go back to your country,’” all because she dared speak to her en anglais.

Mina Barak, 23, told the public broadcaster that it all went down at de la Savane metro station, when a machine took her quarter—or her fiver, as it were.  ”It actually ate my money,” she told the CBC.  It seems the ticket clerk thought she was playing games to try to ride for free, but according to Barak, she wouldn’t get out of her booth to check the machine.  And that’s where all enfer broke loose.

As per the CBC, Barak “said the woman told her to speak French and said, ‘Go back to your country.’”  After telling the transit-worker, en français, that she had just phoned in a complaint against her, Barak added “I am going to make sure you lose your job for what you said to me,” language unknown.  Then, “She said the clerk dropped her knitting, emerged from booth (sic), put her in a headlock and started to punch her repeatedly.”  Three fellow commuters had to step in and keep ‘em separated.

To date, no charges have been laid, and the STM wouldn’t confirm any details of the incident.  They also have yet to confirm whether their new unofficial slogan is “Parlez français ou mourir!”  (Where’s Billy Milano’s francophone cousin when you need him?)