Partition of Belgium

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The partition of Belgium or the dissolution of the Belgian State through the separation of the Dutch-speaking peoples of the Flanders region from the French-speaking peoples of the Walloon region, granting them either independence or respective accession to the Netherlands and France, is recurrently discussed in Belgian and international media.^[1] The concept is rooted in the long-standing ethnic and socio-economic tensions between the two communities as well as the geographic and cultural continuity of Wallonia with France and that of Flanders with the Netherlands.

The territories corresponding to the modern Belgian, Dutch and Luxembourgian states are collectively called Low Countries. They emerged at the end of the Middle Ages as a set of more or less independent fiefdoms loosely linked to the Kingdom of France and the Holy Roman Empire. The southern part of this region, the Southern Netherlands and the Prince-Bishopric of Liège, was partitioned both politically, into many fiefdoms, and linguistically, into the Romanic and Germanic sprachraums. The feudal borders were not matching the language borders and some fiefdoms were divided into Francophone and Germanic regions. However the political class, the aristocracy, which usually spoke other languages than the population, did not much bother about these language-related issues. After the secession in 1581 of the Dutch republic, in the Southern Netherlands, French emerged progressively, under the influence of the habsbourgian nobility and, later, of the French invasions, as the upper class language, not only at the court but also in the administration and in the political circles.

Antagonism between the Francophone and the Dutch-speaking segments of the population increased after the independence of Belgium in 1830, when citizens of the southern Netherlands and their exclusively French-speaking political elite rebelled against the hegemony of the northern provinces of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. Major European powers were divided over the fallout of the revolution. Ultimately, the state of Belgium gained independence as a buffer state between France and the Netherlands and composed of provinces of both French-speaking and Dutch-speaking peoples. In the centuries that followed, socio-economic imbalances fueled resentment between the communities.

Since the 1960s, separate regions have been gradually created, based on the linguistic division. As a result, minorities in certain areas (in and around Brussels and along the language border) claim to be disenfranchised in local government and services. Along with the usual left-right political division, there is a linguistic division too, causing a double party system which complicates coalitions on the national level. The recent crisis over the formation of a coalition government in the aftermath of the 2007 elections, coupled with the unsolved problem of the Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde electoral district and the rise of extremist political parties, has given a fresh impetus to the issue, with recent opinion polls showing sizable support amongst Belgians. However, support for a unified state remains among the majority of people. Pro-Belgians will claim that the monarchy, strong national institutions and the geopolitical importance of the linguistically and ethnically mixed Brussels serve as unifying elements, while anti-Belgians will rather claim these factors (and the considerable state debt) serve merely as obstacles to an inevitable partition.

[edit] Regional demographics

Flemish Region (yellow, North), Walloon Region (red, South) and Brussels Capital Region (Orange, central spot South of the Flemish Region)

See also: Demographics of Belgium

As no census exists, there are no official statistics on Belgium's three official languages or their dialects. Various criteria, including the language(s) of parents, of education, or the second-language status of foreign born, may affect suggested figures. An estimated 59%^[2] of the Belgian population speaks Dutch (often colloquially referred to as Flemish), and French is spoken by 40%. Total Dutch speakers are 6.23 million, concentrated in the northern Flanders region, while French speakers comprise 3.32 million in Wallonia and an estimated 0.87 million or 85% of the officially bilingual Brussels-Capital Region.^[3][4] The German-speaking Community is made up of 73,000 people in the east of Wallonia; around 10,000 German and 60,000 Belgian nationals are speakers of German. Roughly 23,000 more of German speakers live in municipalities near the official Community.^[5] The Capital Region having bilingual status obliges its authorities to attend to people and organisations in French or Dutch language as these prefer, and to show street names in both languages on the plates, but does not allow a bilingual school as education belongs to either the French Community or the Flemish one. Geographically, it is an enclave in the Flemish Region though near Wallonia. Constitutionally, it is a politically distinct Region, while within its boundaries both the Flemish and French Communities exercise their authority. Historically, the local language of Brussels was Dutch, and Dutch remained the vernacular language of a majority of inhabitants until around 1950. Now Dutch is mainly spoken by approximately 0.15 million residents, or a 15% minority at most. The city has strong economic ties with surrounding Flanders meaning many Dutch-speakers commute to Brussels for work, but in return, the expanding suburbs of Brussels have created some French-speaking majority areas in Flanders.

[edit] Political borders

The Seventeen Provinces (orange, brown and yellow areas) and the Bishopric of Liège (green)

The territory of Belgium is the southern part of the historical region called Low Countries. The Low Countries emerged at the end of the Middle Ages as a very loose political confederation of fiefdoms ruled in personal union by the House of Habsburg: the Seventeen Provinces. The largest components of this union were the Duchy of Brabant, the County of Flanders, the County of Hainaut and the Duchy of Luxembourg. The Prince-Bishopric of Liège was almost an enclave within the Seventeen Provinces. The prince-bishopric was not formally included in the Habsburgian dominion but was, since Charles V, strongly influenced by its Habsburgian neighbors. The border which emerged after the Dutch Revolt and the Eighty Years' War split the Seventeen Provinces into the Dutch Republic and the Spanish Netherlands. In particular Brabant and Flanders were divided into northern and southern components. Though the different fiefdoms building the Southern Netherlands were more or less ruled by one reigning House only, all of them were quite distinct of each other. Different traditions and dialects of Dutch and Walloon appeared. Within the largest fiefdoms like Liège, Flanders and Luxembourg, several distinct languages and dialects were in use.^[6]

Map of French Imperial departments in the Low Countries

It is notable that the feudal borders partitioning Belgium during the Ancien Régime have nothing in common with the partitioning lines which separate nowadays the Belgian federal entities. The French disbanded these feudal entities and replaced them by departments during the occupation from 1794 to 1815. The new entities mirrored approximately the language border. For instance this new division separated the bilingual kernel of the Prince-Bishopric of Liège into two more or less monolingual regions. The only major exceptions were the bilingual Dyle and Forêts departments. The departments would eventually become the provinces of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and later on of Belgium. The name of the provinces were inspired by the roughly corresponding medieval fiefdoms. In particular, the Dyle department became the province of Brabant, that is the most southern part of the older Duchy.

The territory now constituting Belgium had been incorporated into the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, which had been created to rehabilitate and consolidate the former Seventeen Provinces and serve as a buffer against the expansionist ambitions of France. However, this placed the Belgian provinces including the French-speaking Wallonia under Dutch-majority rule and the Dutch king, causing considerable socio-political friction and leading to the outbreak of revolution in 1830. The domination of the Dutch over the economic, political, and social institutions, while the Belgians had little influence over the economy and resented Dutch control. While the Dutch king was a Calvinist, the Belgians were Catholics.^[7]

Belgium, French partition plan, 1830

Major European powers (which included France, Germany and the United Kingdom) were divided over their response to the revolution of the Belgian people against the Dutch royal authorities.^[8] France favored the secession of Belgium from the Netherlands, hoping to annex all or at least part of the area, which was also the aim of most of the insurgents. After this project had been rejected by the other European powers, which supported the continued union of the Netherlands, Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, the French ambassador to the United Kingdom, proposed a partition of the Southern Netherlands (most areas of modern Belgium).^[8] To this end, the parts of the provinces of Liège, of Limburg and of Namur east of the Meuse river as well as the cities of Maastricht and Liège and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg would go to Prussia. Part of the province of East Flanders, nearly all of the province of Brabant, the province of Hainaut and the province of Namur west of the Meuse would be assigned to France. The province of Antwerp - except the city of Antwerp itself - and the province of Limburg, west of the Meuse river - except Maastricht - would remain with the Netherlands, as would a small part of the province of Brabant, the former Oranje Lordship of Diest. West Flanders, most of East Flanders, including Zeeuws-Vlaanderen, and the city of Antwerp were to form the Free State of Antwerp, under British protection.^[8]

However, the plan was not accepted and Belgium was established as an essential buffer state against France's expansionist ambitions.^[9] Wallonia and Flanders were unified as one state under the German prince, Leopold I of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. Talleyrand described the new country as "an artificial construction, consisting of different peoples."^[10] A historian of the Belgian revolution said that "in Belgium, there are parties and provinces, but no nation. Like a tent erected for one night, the new monarchy, after sheltering us from the tempest, will disappear without a trace."^[11]

The Belgian State was from its beginning dominated by the French-speaking elite, who as rebels retaliated against the Dutch. French became the sole official language. Dutch-speakers demanded equal rights from the late 19th century, but these were only introduced gradually through the 20th century. While postage stamps became bilingual from 1893, it was not until 1967 that an official Dutch version of the Constitution was accepted.^[12]

[edit] The language border

The language border separating the Germanic and Roman sprachraums moved over the centuries which preceded the establishment of the Belgian state over an area between the Ardennes and the more or less straight line going from Aachen to Calais on the one hand and the much less populated frontier from Aachen to Arlon via Malmedy. However this frontier has not much changed since the 18th century. For example, in the communes of Mouscron-Comines-Warneton, French seems to be dominant at least since 1761.^[13] The frontier splitting the older province of Brabant and the Hesbaye moved regularly during the 17th and 18th centuries. Some communes, such as Hélécine,^[14] switched from Dutch to French and others, such as Herstappe,^[15] switched from French to Dutch. The Voeren have a long Flemish tradition and, in the Land of Herve, several communes which used to use Germanic dialects switched to French during the 18th century, as for example, Berneau and Warsage, both now part of Dalhem and Saint-Jean-Sart, a hamlet of Aubel.

Before the beginning of the 20th century, this language border was not exactly corresponding to a borderline between users of Belgian French, standard Dutch and High German as it is today but between Romance and a Germanic dialect continua. The Germanic sprachraum was made of different components such as West Flemish, East Flemish, Brabantic, Limburgish, Ripuarian (transitional dialects between Limbourgish and Ripuarian are called Low Dietsch), Moselle Franconian dialect of Trier and, Luxembourgish, the Romance sprachraum of Picard, Walloon (with four distinct dialects around the cities of Charleroi, Namur, Liège and Bastogne), Lorrain and, Champenois. The 20th century saw, due to mass education and the expansion of modern medias such as television, a uniformization of the different language regions leading to the domination of the standard languages in their respective domains. In Wallonia, French became the one and only dominant language, local dialects being used in seldom cases only. In Flanders, the Netherlands, Germany and, Luxembourg, the local dialects better survived at least in the private sphere.

The historical language border in the Low Countries corresponds to the frontier between populations whose majorities spoke distinct languages. However, the decision making minority, the upper class, was often speaking French. As it used to be the case in many European noble courts, French was the historical nobility's language in most part of the Low Countries. Several souvereigns of the region, including Maria Theresa of Austria, tried with more or less success to make French not only the language of the court but also of their administrations. For instance, while the major part of the population of Luxembourg speaks Luxembourgish in a private context, admnistrative language of Luxembourg is French. As another example, the motto of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is the French phrase: "Je maintiendrai", a relict of the fact that the language of the Orange-Nassau reigning family used to be French till 1890. In Flanders, till the beginning of the 20th century, many upper class Flemish burghers, such as for instance Maurice Maeterlinck or Suzanne Lilar, used French as their first language. For example, the University of Ghent used to be a French-speaking institution till 1930.

[edit] Nationalisms and regionalisms

Bilingual road sign in Voeren, a Belgian municipality with language facilities bordering the Netherlands. The Dutch name Voeren has been painted over leaving the French name Fourons only

[edit] Belgian nationalism

Main article: Belgian nationalism

Currents of Belgian nationalism began emerging in the later 19th century, seeking to overcome the ethnic and linguistic divides and create a national culture. Historian Henri Pirenne asserted that the Belgian identity was not defined on racial, ethnic or linguistic lines, but in the civilizational commune of the Belgian people.^[11] Supporters of a partition of Belgium argue that the synchronized attempts to forge a national identity and culture have been unable to forestall ethno-linguistic rivalries.

[edit] Flemish movement

Main article: Flemish movement

The Belgian population was further divided by linguistic duality. French was the only official language of Belgium until 1898, but the province of Flanders was and remains predominantly Dutch-speaking. The government's long-time refusal to acknowledge Dutch through language reform led to hostilities between Flanders and the French-speaking region of Wallonia. These hostilities gave rise to the Flemish movement, which began as a literary/cultural organization and later became a political movement that fought primarily for legal rights of the Dutch language. The 1898 Equality Law made Dutch an official language of Belgium, but it did not become the only official language of Flanders until 1921,^[11] and to this day, French remains the language of the aristocracy.

The central government focused its resources on the development of Wallonia's industrial and mining base, while the largely agrarian Flemish area trailed in socio-economic development, leading to widespread demands for regional autonomy and the correction of imbalances in taxation, social services and representation. The deterioration of the Walloon industrial base in the late 20th century occurred parallel to the growth of service and technological industries in Flanders, aggravating socio-economic tensions. Modern Fleming demands center over the alleged over-taxation of Flanders and insufficient autonomy and complaints over the concentration of social services in Wallonia, causing a so-called "stream of money" from Flanders to Wallonia. The Flemish movement has inspired the growth of Flemish nationalist political parties such as the Volksunie (People's Union) which split into different parties including Vlaams Blok succeeded by the Vlaams Belang, the Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie (N-VA) and Spirit. While the N-VA seeks greater autonomy and favours the independence of Flanders, possibly in a confederate state,^[16] the Vlaams Belang is more clearly separatist.

[edit] Walloon/Francophone movement

Main article: Walloon movement

The Walloon movement arose in the 19th century along with the language disputes; French-speakers sought the preservation of the French language and culture as the defining creed of the country. French-speaking politicians and other influential citizens opposed the Flemish demands for the recognition of Dutch and wished to maintain a centralized government to prevent regionalization.

After the division of Belgium into two clearly separate linguistic areas, and after the economic decline of Wallonia, two more or less separate currents have formed. One is a more regional Walloon movement, demanding to maintain the solidarity between the richer north and the poorer south, but also increasingly stressing the separate cultural identity of Wallonia. Another current is merely Francophone and pro-Belgian, but not regional as such, mainly based on the French-speakers of Brussels and especially of the surrounding rim municipalities which are effectively suburbs of Brussels but situated in Flanders. What these two movements have in common is support of the French language, support of the Belgian state and opposition to further federal devolution. A small minority of Walloons, however, support increased independence. Flemish nationalists will sometimes claim the French-speaking "Belgicists" of Brussels and its suburbs don't have common interests with the Walloons, but that these two parties have formed a quid-pro-quo alliance to oppose the Dutch speaking majority of Belgium. According to this analysis, Walloon politicians would allegedly give political support to the French-speaking politicians of Brussels (and its surroundings) in return for receiving economic support to Wallonia.

Since the 1960s, Belgian political parties and civic organizations have witnessed bifurcation of membership and organizations between Walloon and Flanders. Ethnic tensions affect the working of local governments, which often pass laws prohibiting the use of the language of the respective minority populations in official functions,^{[citation needed]}, for example municipal council meetings in Flanders must take place in Dutch, even if a majority of the council is French-speaking. On the other hand, Dutch-speaking citizens of the Flemish municipalities close to Brussels claim their position is being undermined by the minority rights of French-speaking settlers. Significant pressures in living conditions have kept the two main communities separate and confined to their majority regions; stark ethnic segregation has emerged in Brussels, the capital and largest city of the country.^[9] Despite the diversity of the national capital Brussels, ethnic tensions have affected some of the city's surrounding municipalities, which are situated in Flanders, but have had a great influx of monolingual French-speakers as a result of suburbanisation and urban emigration from Brussels. These Dutch-speaking 'facility municipalities' are obliged to offer local government services in French, meaning health-care and public amenities are divided on linguistic lines, and in some municipalities the original French-speaking minority is believed to have become a majority.^[17]

[edit] Brussels

While the population of Brussels used to be Flemish, the Francization of Brussels began in the eighteenth century, under the influence of the Habsbourgian court. At the beginning of the 20th century, the language border split the city into the French-speaking quarters in the south around Ixelles and the northern quarters around the Grand Place.

In the event of a split-up Belgium, the future status of the city is unknown and problematic.

[edit] City state scenario

Some have suggested it become a "European [capital] district", similar to Washington D.C. or the Australian Capital Territory, run by the EU rather than Flanders or Wallonia.^[18][19] However, since the European Union is not a state but an association between states, the EU is not equipped with any law or institutions to govern a "European district". To fulfill this solution in practice, Brussels would probably need to be an independent city state which could join the EU on equal footing with other EU member states.^[20] The possible status of Brussels as a "city state" has been suggested by Charles Picqué, Minister-President of the Brussels-Capital Region, who sees a tax on the EU institutions as a way of enriching the city. However, the Belgian issue has very little discussion within the EU bodies.^[21]

[edit] Extension of Brussels

A controversial issue, complicating the "city state" scenario, is the possible extension of the Brussels capital region into the surrounding municipalities of Flemish Brabant and Walloon Brabant. This proposal is not necessarily linked to a split-up of Belgium.

Some have, however, suggested that these wealthy areas would make the city financially viable as an independent state, potentially give the city around 1.5 million inhabitants, an airport and forest within its boundaries and make it three or four times larger than the current capital region. Currently, Brussels is the most important seat of EU institutions, but the EU has no formal capital. It has been claimed that a large and independent status may help Brussels in its claim as the capital of the EU.^[20]

The enlargement of the Brussels capital region is naturally supported by many French-speakers in the Flemish municipalities with facilities for French-speakers surrounding Brussels. As a result of suburbanisation and an influx of French-speakers and EU officials from Brussels, these municipalities have in recent decades become increasingly French-speaking to an extent that French-speakers now form a majority in some municipalities. These citizens would see their rights as French-speakers assured by becoming part of the bilingual, French-dominated capital. In contrast, the Dutch-speakers in this rim zone would see their linguistical rights being endangered if incorporated into the Brussels region.

Similar to a "Greater Brussels" region, the electoral district of Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde consists of Brussels and some surrounding municipalities in Flanders. Is the only remaining entity in Belgium that does not follow the borders between the federal regions, and as such it has been deemed unconstitutional. This has been a conflict issue for years and a major political problem in the cabinet formation crisis of 2007-2008. In this situation, any proposal to merge the surrounding municipalities into Brussels would probably trigger a heated debate.

[edit] 2007 government formation crisis

Main article: 2007 Belgian government formation

The Belgian general election, 2007 resulted in no political party or coalition gaining enough seats to form a working majority. The crisis continued for 196 days, leaving Belgium without a government with a popular mandate.^[22] While prime minister Guy Verhofstadt's lame duck ministry remained in power as caretaker, several leading politicians were nominated without success by the King^[23] to build a stable governmental coalition. While considered to be the main choice for the post of prime minister, Flemish politician Yves Leterme's singing the Marseillaise in French when requested to sing the Belgian national anthem on a national holiday proved to be a humiliating and controversial gaffe. Leterme's behavior drew condemnation from different communities, aggravating distrust and separatist sentiments.^[9] Members of the Vlaams Belang party called for a splitting of the country and claim of a national identity, culture and institutions, and claim Belgium is an "unnatural" and "artificial" state,^[24] formed simply as a buffer between France and other European powers during 19th century conflicts.

Although most Flemish political parties describe their demands as limited to seeking greater regional autonomy and decentralization of government, some public opinion polls performed during the communautary crisis showed that approximately 46% of Flemish people support secession from Belgium. Other surveys indicated only 12% of the Flemings want the end of Belgium, whereas 37% want more responsibilities to be devolved to communities and the regions.^[25] Many French-speakers maintain there is sufficient regional autonomy and that Flemish demands are exaggerated and separatist in nature.^[26] However, the diversity of Brussels and its significant economic and geopolitical importance in the Western hemisphere as the headquarters of the European Union and NATO, make it a unifying force, making partition unlikely at least for the near future.^[9] In response to heightening domestic and international speculation regarding the country's future, the Belgian government launched a public relations campaign through its embassies worldwide to assuage concerns and fight speculation that Belgium's division is impending, as indicated by numerous recent public opinion polls.^[17] The King of the Belgians rejected notions and speculation over a change in the nature of the Belgian state as part of proposals for the formation of a working government.

On November 18, 2007 an estimated 25,000 people marched in Brussels to support the unity of Belgium. The march was organized by Marie-Claire Houart whose petition calling for unity was signed by 140,000 Belgians.^[27][28]

The Belgian Chamber of Representatives on 22 November 2007 rejected the consideration of a proposed resolution to dissolve Belgium.^[29] The resolution had been introduced on October 29 by Bart Laeremans, Gerolf Annemans, Filip De Man and Linda Vissers (Vlaams Belang) and called upon the Federal Government to "take without delay the measures necessary for the purpose of preparing the break-up of the Belgian State, so the three communities - Flemings, Walloons and Germans - can go their own separate ways."^[30] Most Flemish parties voted against the consideration of the proposal.^[31] The three members of the New-Flemish Alliance abstained, together with three members of CD&V.^[32]

Polls in 'Editie NL', a Dutch news program on the commercial station RTL 4 and newspaper De Dag (The Day) in the Netherlands showed that between 45% and 77% of Dutch nationals - both polls showed different results - would support a merge of their country with Flanders.^[33] A similar poll held in France showed that a majority of French citizens would support a merger of Wallonia with France, if Belgium ceased to exist.^[34] However the French political class excluded any interference into the inner Belgian debate. ^[35][36]

[edit] Position of the political parties

The parties with long lasting participation to the Belgian governments, that is the Christian Democrats, the Liberals and the Socialists, as well as the Green parties usually refuse to speak openely about a possible partitioning of Belgium. This question seems to be taboo on the Belgian political scene and is only discussed from time to time by main stream politicians in order to menace the other community, a bit like the atomic bomb in the cold war context.^[37] The heart of the problem is not the partition of Belgium but its federalization also called regionalization or communitarization. This process of devolution which began in the 1960s due to the pressure of the Flemish movement and, to a lesser extent, of the Walloon movement is called in the Belgian context the state reform. While most Francophones argue that the state reform is unnecessary, virtually all Flemish political parties demand a severe reform of the Belgian state.

The Socialist Party – Different (SP.A), the Flemish socialist party, states on its website that it believes an independent Flanders is not necessary. It does support the devolution of a number of additional responsibilities, such as the railways or the policy of employment. Open Vld, the Flemish liberals, wants more socio-economic and financial autonomy for Flanders, a homogenous division of responsibilities, more cooperation between the communities and regions and a strong federal state. Groen!, the Flemish green party, wants another round in the state reform, but only if it leads to more solidarity, a better functioning of the institutions and more democracy. It states on its website that it doesn’t want to reform for the purpose of reforming. Groen! wants Belgium to remain a federal state and considers the cooperation between different communities within one state to be a challenge rather than a problem. It also pleads for federal loyalty and respect for the rulings of the Constitutional Court and wants to see a more homogenous division of responsibilities.

The Francophone Socialist (PS) and Christian Democratic parties (CDH) promote the conservation of the current welfare state and are therefore opposed to any further regionalization of the federal social policies.^[38][39] The Mouvement Réformateur, the Francophone Liberal party, stresses in its manifesto that the Flemings are intending to split most of the solidarity mechanisms between the Belgians. They also state that they minimize the importance of the Brussels-Capital Region as a constitutional component of the federal state. Their approach is to build strong links between the different components of the French-speaking part of Belgium, including Brussels and Wallonnia as well as the municipalities with a French-speaking presence around Brussels and in Voeren. The aim of this approach is to create a strong autonomous Francophone component within the federal state.^[40] Ecolo, the Francophone Green party, supports an improvement of the political links between the communities. They suggest among other things the creation of a national electoral arrondissement for the election of a part of the federal parliament.^[41]

In Flanders, several parties whose electoral success cannot be neglected^[42] are openly for a partition of the country. The largest is the far right Vlaams Belang party (Flemish Interest).^[43] However its extreme concervative opinions with respect to the Belgian minorities of Jewish or North African descent make of this party a difficult political partner. Other openly separatist but more politically correct parties emerged recently: Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie (New-Flemish Alliance), Lijst Dedecker (List Dedecker).^[44] In Walonnia and Brussels, only the Rassemblement Wallonie-France (Wallonia-France Rally)^[45] party is openly separatist. This party, which has no elected representative at neither the national and regional level, promotes the partition of Belgium and a union of Wallonia and Brussels with France.

Several small parties with no or very few seats at the parliament campaign explicitly for the maintain of the Belgian states. The concervative Belgian Union^[46] promotes a stronger federal government and a return to the Belgian unitary states which used to exist in the 1960s. The far leftist Workers Party of Belgium also support the unity a Belgium for the reason that it considers the federalization of the country as an attack at the employers against the welfare state and the union of the labour unions. The francophone far right Front National^[47] is also explicitly opposed to the partition of the country.

[edit] References