A few of you may know this—yours truly is 100% Belgium (Flemish)
The Belgian divide between the 6.5 million Dutch-speaking Flemish in Flanders, to the north, and the 4.5 million French-speaking Walloons in Wallonia, to the south
For most of Belgian history, Francophone elites ran the country. Flanders was poor and rural. Wallonia was a steel and coal capital of Europe. Francophone aristocrats in the 19th century controlled the port of Antwerp in Flanders. In World War I, Flemish foot soldiers took orders from French-speaking officers they often didn't understand, resulting in great casualties. One result was a Flemish and anti-French pacifist movement. …After World War II, the fortunes of the two communities reversed. Flanders began to rise in the global economy, and Wallonia receded into rust-belt status.
"For the Flemish, the main idea is a birthright of the soil, a claim on territory and the right to control it,"
For the Francophones, the issue is the universal rights they are entitled to."
Looming over all divorce scenarios is an impossible math problem: Who would get Brussels, which is in Flanders, but is 85 percent French-speaking?
Flanders is widely seen as Europe's most conservative region, barring Bavaria in Germany; Wallonia, by contrast, is run by avowed socialists.
Click on the following for more details: Belgium breaks Iraq’s world record for government impasse - CSMonitor.com
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