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Europe
Thousands of Flemish in anti-French protest
2004-05-10
Thousands of Flemish people took to the streets on Sunday to demand that French speaking political parties be banned from presenting candidates in a large Brussels electoral district. The protest took place in the Brussels-Hal-Vilvoorde (BHV) electoral district. BNV is a 'mixed' area, which means both French and Dutch speaking parties can campaign there during next month's regional and European elections. But the protestors want it to be re-designated part of Flanders so that only Flemish parties can stand.
Defend the Flemish Homeland!
A group of mayors from 28 Flemish towns have already threatened to boycott next month's polls if French speaking parties are allowed to canvass in BHV. While there are more Flemish than French speaking Belgians living in BHV, the Flemish are nonetheless in a minority in the district. This is because BHV has a large population of voters from European Union countries.
Gotta watch them EU types, sneaking in and trying to take over.
Flemish inhabitants account for 48 percent of local residents, French speakers 32 percent and the EU expats, who have the right to vote in the June poll and tend to back French speaking parties, make up 20 percent.
What's next, the Flemish Liberation Army?
Posted by:Steve

#5  The Flemish demands are rational and simple: we want the boundaries for the electoral "district" to coincide with the boundary of Flanders.

If you could imagine for a moment Texan electoral districts extending into southern Oklahama, you get a better feel for the current situation here in Belgium.
Posted by: Dog of Flanders   2004-05-13 7:30:47 AM  

#4  Uhm, Mitch? Vlaams Blok?
Posted by: Adriane   2004-05-10 4:15:50 PM  

#3  Come on, as much as I don't like the French, what can you say about one set of parties trying to kick the other set out of elections? These Flemish protestors sound like a bunch of fascist toads. You could argue against letting Eurocrats vote locally in Brussels, I guess, but to argue for banning Francophone *parties*? I don't bloody well think so!

Kind of makes me wonder how many bureaucrats, White House workers, and congressional aides are registered in the District, though. I can't imagine it's anything like thirty percent. Just how many Eurocrats are there, anyways?
Posted by: Mitch H.   2004-05-10 12:13:52 PM  

#2  . . .Flemish being more conservative and entrepreneurial than the French-speaking folks

Does that surprise anyone?
Posted by: BigEd   2004-05-10 11:53:50 AM  

#1  The Flemish-French divide is roughly equivalent to our Red - Blue state divide, with the Flemish being more conservative and entrepreneurial than the French-speaking folks.
Posted by: virginian   2004-05-10 11:16:00 AM  

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