Ça vs Il

Question

Why would it be "C'était un bâtard" not "Il était un bâtard?" The statement is specific. I asked my partner, who is a native French speaker, and he said both sounded correct/normal to him. He couldn't figure out why the latter is unacceptable, even viewing the rules provided.

Maarten Kamp · Accepted Answer

My wife is French - she immediately responded with “c’était un batard“ when I reconfirmed with her. (To be honest, I knew she would as this question comes up regularly). 
It is very uncommon to follow il/elle with an article-noun, as covered in the lesson here (section 1 - always c’est if followed by article-noun), and the attached external link. Yes, there are exceptions but not many in everyday speech. 
https://www.frenchtoday.com/blog/french-grammar/cest-versus-il-elle-est/ 
 
 
 
https://progress.lawlessfrench.com/revision/grammar/c-est-vs-il-elle-est-saying-it-is-she-is-he-is?

Gary Truckey · Answer

Alors, quand quelqu'un dit de moi que je suis un batard; il faut qu'il dit "C'est un batard"; plutot que "Il est un batard"?  ;)