Belgium: Lingua Belgica

In Charleroi, the Walloon banners screamed "No to a Flemish dictatorship!" An orator in Flanders shouted, "We reject all further compromises!" The angry shouts over much of Belgium last week were the latest outbursts in the ancient hostility between the nation's 5,250,000 Flemings in the north who speak a language related to Dutch, and the 4,000,000 French-speaking Walloons in the south. Since Belgium seceded from The Netherlands 133 years ago, the numerically superior Flemings have always resented the traditional economic and social superiority of the Walloons. "We're the only country in...

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