Walloon Movement
The Walloon movement indicates the whole of the political movements Belgian which assert the existence of a Walloon identity and Wallonia and/or which defends the language and the culture Frenchwomen either within the framework of the “ contract of 1830 ” or in the defense of the linguistic rights of the French-speaking people of Belgium.
It is sometimes called wallingantism and its militants of the wallingants : “he says that which follows an active policy, inspired above all by the consideration of Wallonia and its interests” according to Albert Henry. But the expression is not really indicated because of its pejorative connotation, its use was prohibited at the Belgian Parliament. One speaks rather today about regionalistic Walloons .
This movement takes shape at the same time from linguistic but such a political and socio-economic point of view. This movement with the multiple currents led by its actions to great transformations of the institutions of the Belgian State, particularly its regionalization.
History
See also: History of the Walloon movement
One agrees to take 1880 like initial benchmark for the Walloon political movement with the foundation of a movement of Walloon and French-speaking defense following the first linguistic laws of the years 1870. It will take thereafter the character of a movement asserting the existence of a Wallonia and a Walloon identity all while not giving up the defense of French. Wallonia asserted timidly as from 1898 but which becomes the principal demand since 1905 with a point of organ with the Walloon congress of 1912 and the Lettre with the King of Jules Destrée. The First World War and a reviving with Belgian patriotism will apply a brake at the movement which lives in the same time of the dissensions. Walloon militants gather as of 1930 pennies the patronage of the Walloon Concentration where the radical ideas of 1912 reappear which will give place to the linguistic laws of 1932. During the Second world war, are distinguished within Resistance from many Walloon militants who form various clandestine groupings. This world war will radicalize even more the movement which for the first time speaks about independence ideas, and which will lead to its active participation with the royal Question in 1950. Then one decade follows a long lull which ends with the General strike of the winter 1960-1961 with at its head André Renard which combines union action and wallingant combat. These two events, the royal Question of 1950 and the general strike of 1960-61 are certainly the principal ones of the history of the movement, in intensity and influence. In 1962, the problem of Fourons emerges during the establishment of the new linguistic borders.
Bases
French language
The principal base of the thought common to all the currents of the Walloon movement is the promotion and the defense of the French language. In his Catechism of the Walloon , the Count Albert of the Wood of Enghien answers the question “Show me that the Walloons have the distinctive features of French nationality” by “It is too easy: we speak French and we speak only French”. The French unilinguism is one of the principal claims of the Walloon movement, including at the expense of the Walloon language and other dialects of the Romance Belgium.
The Walloon militants regard the Walloons as a “community of French language”.
There exist nevertheless Walloon militants who defend bilingualism, like Fernand Cocq.
Wallonia
See also: Wallonia
Concept born in 1886, Wallonia is in the center of the thought of the Walloon movement where it is at the same time “Romance Ground” and society project. It was concretized by the creation of the Walloon region in 1970.
The idea that a called Romance ground “Wallonia” exists quickly becomes impossible to circumvent in the thought of the Walloon Movement, especially by presenting it as “an inviolable territory at the intangible borders” the unilinguism of French asserted for the Walloon ground is also a rejection of Dutch “considered as a weapon of conquest of the Flemish Movement which must be fought " in its tendencies invading in Wallonie" ” and the use could allow the rooting of the clericalism the south of the linguistic border.
Historians like Maarten Van Ginderacter or Eliane Gubin analyze even the importance of Wallonia like a truth immanente - a ding and sich to take again the Kantian expression of the German idealism used - in the ideas of the Walloon Movement:
Gradually, the Walloon territory becomes a truth immanente, a value year sich oneself with its own rights to respect. Jules Destrée approves, of the kind, the law of Equality (1898): " I would not believe to betray major enthusiasm only I keep with my Walloon ground by mingling my vote with those with clerical with Flandre"
The idea of Wallonia which is entitled its own to put forward also illustrates by a declaration of the Walloon Congress of 1914: “ the Congress expresses the wish to see Walloon associations and of defense French language to organize it for the election time an intense campaign in favor of the rights of Wallonia ”.
However, this opinion on the Walloon movement is very seldom expressed, even by external observers. In fact, insofar as the Walloon Movement aims to the introduction of a State, he is concerned with territory of this State since the territory, the population which occupies it and the government which manages it constitute the three key elements of the definition of the State.
Walloon identity
See also: Walloon
For the Walloon movement, the Walloon identity is before a a whole identity citizen, based on the French political tradition, where the Walloon is a person having the will to take part in this identity, like described it the politilogist Anny Dauw: It cannot be question of cultural identity of an ethnic type where the stress would be laid either on a common history, or on a common language or still on a common character. It is about an cultural identity where the stress is laid on the “will” of the people. Because what is important in the French tradition, it is not what people are, but what they veulent.
Another enquiring Dutch-speaking Denise Van Damm goes in the same direction, insistent on the socialist aspects of the Walloon movement: As in each combat where dominated try to take their destiny in hand, the “dominant ones” feel threatened in their dominant position. That they are relations between colonized countries and colonizing countries or Federal state and areas or between the capital and the back-country, each claim for more autonomy of weakest is accompanied by a defensive reaction of most extremely. Paradoxically, dominated often draw their force from the attitude scorning of the dominant ones. “To speak” about the things life gives to those. It is the case of Wallonia which continues its social democrat fight and which by this one integrates a new dimension, namely the culture.
Nevertheless, of the more ethnic aspects appear. The Walloon identity is also defined by a territory and a language: Wallonia and the French language. Thus for the Walloon militants, the inhabitants of the territory whom they define as Wallonia are and must be regarded as Wallons: “Wallonia defines as Wallons all its inhabitants, whatever their origin”. By the French language, the majority of the wallingants consider the French-speaking Inhabitants of Brussels as partners of the Walloons even more even if since Jules Destrée a feeling anti-inhabitant of Brussels is present within the movement.
Walloon side, examining a possible drift even more serious, Corinne Godefroid studies the designs of Wallonia inside the Walloon movement and concludes from a long article devoted to with Walloon Race and Walloon movement that the Belgian duality whatever the name which was given to him, only rarissimement was regarded as a case of racial inequality, more especially as the solutions suggested were never but political: The final solutions more the extremists to cure the perpetual and indéfectible conflict between Flemings and Walloons have as a name federalism or fastening in France .
Resistance and anti-Fascism
The fight against the rise of Fascisms and the engagement of the Walloon militants in Belgian resistance during the Second world war constitute a big step in the thought of the Walloon Movement and the identification with a Walloon identity, so much so that historians as Chantal Kesteloot wonder whether engagement in Resistance is not “cement of an identity in Wallonia”.
Ideological prints
Francophilia
One of the common points to the whole of the Walloon movement - all while not being its prerogative about it - is its attachment with the political traditions of the French revolution, like with the language and the culture Frenchwomen.
This Francophilie of the Walloon Movement crystallizes before and after the Second world war, at the same time because the Walloon militants wish a policy more brought closer with France but also in reaction to the rise of the national-socialisme in Germany and the Fascisme in Italy.
During the inter-war period, the Walloon movement fights the policy of neutrality, known as of the freehands , Léopold III mainly by francophilia but as in reaction to the position anti-Frenchwoman of the Flemish movement as many militants regarded as pro-allemande, rightly for certain currents flamingants. In Europe where the democratic States were reduced, in France and England, this orientation of the Belgian foreign politics also frightened many Walloon political officials of all tendances It is certain also that the Walloons minorized in the Belgian State did not see very an good eye makes it be placed in a unit whose Netherlanders and Flemings formed crushing it majority.
Does the rattachism, running French irredentist within the movement, also illustrate this love of the French Republic with in particular Albert of the Wood which in its work Belgian or French? published in 1903 “ denounces the subjection of the Walloons to the Flemings: besides those make only succeed the Dutchmen, Autrichiens and Spaniards who occupied Wallonia. The French heart of the Walloons must carry them to want the return to “the work of Quatre-vingt-treize” the invasion of the Belgium provinces by the French and the destruction of the international agreements of 1814 and 1830. It develops the same thesis in the Catechism of the Walloon, widely diffused in this same year 1903. ”
Republicanism
Attachment with the French political tradition rises an private interest from the Walloon militants for the Républicanisme. A certain number of them fight Belgian monarchy and try to promote the republican system, that it is within the framework of Belgium or the framework of independent Wallonia. One can quote Paul Magnette which makes in 1911 one of the first calls in favor of a Walloon republic. But also Henri Glineur and Julien Lahaut for their cries “Lives the Republic!” during the oath-taking of Baudouin on August 11th, 1950. Cry taken again in “ Lives Wallonia and, especially, lives the Republic! ” at the time of the Festivals of Wallonia in Namur on September 19th, 1999 by Jose Fountain, militant Walloon republican author of the displaced Citizen , a book criticizes against Belgian monarchy. In the case of Lahaut and Glineur, it can be also a manner for the Belgian Communist party by radicalizing after the epilog of the royal Question to put an end to the brutal electoral decline which he knew between 1945 and 1950. In fact, in the Walloon movement, the republican feeling is a latent , but it developed within the framework of the events of the royal Question: Let us take the most illustrative example of this tendency: the royal question. Since, the interest for this problem was not contradicted. It should be said that meanwhile, the current anti-royalist gained in importance in the Walloon movement and, consequently, the historians were challenged on the question of the permanence of a republican feeling in its sein.
Political left
The Walloon movement was always marked on the left - liberalism, socialism, Communism, Christian left,… - since its creation until our days, even if elements more in the center or on the right also animated it. Initiated in the circles of the liberal left, it was quickly a political tool for the trust liberal-Socialist to avoid the minorisation vis-a-vis the conservatives of the Catholic Parti who have mainly their electorate in Flandres. But the attempt at trust fails at the time of the elections of 1912, and it is in this context that Destrée writes its Letter with the King and that working riots take place in Liege and make there three dead. With the inter-war period, the Christian left united with the Walloon movement, in particular the abbot Mahieu, Elie Baussart, Jean Bodart, Englebert Renier… the Walloon movement was the environment of some attempts at pole of the lefts, like the democratic and socialist Gathering Walloon which had this aim during the Second world war.
Part of the Walloon militants consider the movement as an incarnation of the social struggles as well as a tool for the working cause, but that was especially the case of the Renardisme which, so much on the theoretical level than practical, arrives from this point of view to a true operational synthesis of 1960 to 1985.
The Walloon militants often regard Belgium as a middle-class invention, as for example Maurice Bologna which describes in its book the proletarian Insurrection of 1830 in Belgium a Belgian Révolution working inspired by the Révolution of July but betrayed by the middle-class.
Class struggle and renardism
See also: Renardisme
Jules Destrée declared at the time of a speech on November 9th, 1913 that “ the Walloon Movement is not, cannot be, just as the Flemish movement, a cause of division of the working class. On the contrary, each time they are only their interests of class, the workmen, all the workmen must find plain ”. In substance, the Walloon movement must initially serve the working cause in the class struggle. One finds this engagement ouvrierist of the Walloon movement with the renardism, an ideology handling the trade-union fight and the Walloon militancy. Born from the spirit of Andre Renard, this last summarized it very well:
One made us accept the socialist opening in Flanders. It is enough to see the figures. For me, the combat remains whole, but I choose the best ground and the best weapons. For the moment, the best ground and the best weapons are in Wallonia, the best road passes by the defense of the Walloon interests. I am at the same time socialist and Walloon and I marry the Walloon theses because they are socialist.
It is this socialist engagement from a Walloon point of view which results into 1960 the Walloon militants in organizing the General strike of the winter 1960-1961 during which those make not only socio-economic but also institutional claims.
The strike of winter 60-61 because it consumes Community division within the FGTB, that it is not followed by the CSC mainly Flemish, but which it is massively constant in the whole of the Walloon region, then already conscious of its industrial decline, will allow the formulation of a joint claim of economic reforms and modification of the structures of the Belgian State. This double claim will have, initially, being carried apart from the political structures and trade-union existing. It will be the role of the Walloon Popular movement, lobby led by André Renard.
The Christian Labor movement will adopt the same point of view with in particular people like Alfred Califice or Victor Barbeau. Walloon FGTB continues to defend the same point of view in certain connections, such as for example at the time of the Appel supplementing the contract with a future in Wallonia of cultural size .
Internationalism
The Socialists who entered the Walloon movement had to justify themselves compared to the ideal internationalist, as Jules Destrée did it who considered that “ the Walloon Movement is not in contradiction with internationalism. On the contrary, by creating a nation new, free and independent, it facilitates the creation of solid agreements between the nations, which is by definition internationalism”. For the primacy between socialist engagement and Walloon engagement, the two tendencies exist: those which are regarded as Socialists before being Walloon following the example Louis Namèche, and those like Jean-Maurice Dehousse at which the Walloon identity takes precedence over the socialist ideals. Finally, it is the renardism which operates a synthesis between the aspect " national" or " régional" Walloon movement and the socialist ideal. It should be noted that this question can also arise to people of the liberal left, compared to the idea of humanism universalist, but also with the Christian-Democrats or the Christian trade unionists. Thus Jean Neuville wrote in connection with Jean Bodart like Élie Baussart the importance of the integration of certain elements nationalist (or at least ethnic), by those which, wanting to nourish a movement which must carry out the objective that they set, noted that economic contradictions are insufficient with this food. Certain bringings together with the standpoint of Andre Renard on the Walloon problem at the time of the strike of 1960-1961 and with the movements which led to conquer independence in the old colonies, would be perhaps full with enseignements.
The idea of Wallonia in a world State exists for a rather long time. The discussions at the time of the Walloon congress of 1949 are devoted to the place of Wallonia from the point of view of plain Europe or a world State. Review TOUDI, within the framework of an identity post-main road based on the thought of Jean-Marc Ferry, affirmed “ Wallons recently thus internationalists ” at the time of a debate with holding of the rattachism.
In 1965, François Perrin and Pierre Bertrand create the Walloon Parti the Workers who in the political program asserts double Walloon heritage and Socialist of Jules Destrée: Recognition of the nations Walloon and Flemish, autonomy of the Flanders and Wallonia, federalisation of the Flanders and Wallonia, while waiting for the federalisation of the European nations or, better still, them " internationalisation" as Destrée. said
Internal currents
There are several main tendencies in the Walloon movement, since the defense of the French-speaking unilinguism in Belgium - running today disappeared - with the independantism of Wallonia while passing by federal or confederal autonomy and the fastening of Wallonia to the France as well as defense of the linguistic rights of the French-speaking people of Brussels and its periphery.
Unilingual Belgian-French phrase
The defense of the official French unilinguism is the current history of the Walloon movement, current which disappeared today.
The militants of then are attached to the “ Belgian contract ” which according to them was to speak in French in the official aspects about the life in the Belgium news. That is explained by the fact that in 1830, the Belgian revolutionists who build the young state decide to recognize only French, at the same time to slow down the influence of the Netherlands from which they come to separate but also because they resulting from a francophile middle-class and for the majority are attached to the ideas of the French revolution, finally because of prestige of the French language spoken in Belgium by the elites and a popular part of the world.
A Flemish Mouvement is created quickly to recognize the language Dutchwoman. The first Walloon militants then set up a French-speaking movement of defense intended to fight against the official recognition of Dutch. The militants of the time are French-speaking and liberal middle-class, and mainly of Brussels and Dutch-speaking provinces, because much work in the administration where the introduction of another language would have been prejudicial to them.
This current starts with quickly disappearing since 1898, year of the Loi Coremans-In Vriendt which recognizes Dutch.
Defense of the French-speaking people
The defense of the French-speaking people and the French language, apart from the unilingual Belgian-French phrase, starts as of the end of this framework. Various organizations represent it, like the Ligue against the flamandisation of Brussels in the Thirties. This league will fight for a bilingual mode for the communes of Berchem-Holy-Agathe and Ganshoren, communes being still in Bruxelloise periphery until their annexation with Brussels in 1954, and which selont the league " 40 to 50 percent of inhabitants of language française" count;. But on the other hand it will fight against a bilingual mode concerning the commune of Ixelles where according to it there is only " 11 Flemish percent of ".
This current took again more width with the questioning of the linguistic censuses and fixing of the linguistic border in 1962 - 1963. As of the elections of 1965, a party called Democratic Front of the French-speaking Inhabitants of Brussels (FDF) arises and takes down three seats of deputies and one of senator.
Autonomism
This current so to speak appears the first time on March 15th, 1898, in the Walloon Heart . This newspaper of the Walloon League of Liege publishes on first page a plea in favor of the administrative separation of the country: " let us take the offensive openly and continue as of today obtaining a separatist mode, before us were stripped and reduce more still ".
Autonomy varies federalism with the confederalism within the Belgian framework according to the Walloon militants separatists but there exist also separatists promoting autonomy within a European framework where would exist nothing any more but one European capacity and a federation of State-areas. In this last optics of the federalism, “Walloon dynamics is associated with the European dynamism” since strong a long time. As of the inter-war period, Jules Destrée makes the European promotion of the federalism which it presents like his safety, by doing it parallel for the safety of Belgium. In the same spirit, Freddy Terwagne joined it by declaring into 1970 that nationalism died . The club To create, while following the Walloon and European engagement of Jean Rey, recalled the bond between European federalism and European project in their proclamation of 1976: Without the European unit, regionalisms are only always unfinished separatisms which become exhausted in their exaspération.
It is also the position of Wallonia Région of Europe.
Independantism
See also: Walloon Indépendantisme
The independence current within the Walloon movement is youngest. The first project of complete independence of Wallonia is born during the Second world war, within the democratic and socialist Gathering Walloon (RDSW), group primarily inhabitant of Li2ege, made up at the end of 1942 and gathering politicians and militant Walloon liberal and socialist. The purpose of the RDSW is to create a sole party of left (without success) and to be an work group, in which the liberal Fernand Schreurs and the Socialist Fernand Dehousse take part, on the future status of Wallonia. The project of independence will be written in November 1943, after the departure of the federalists, in the form of a constitution project for a Walloon republic. Its principle rests on " formation of a Walloon State independent, suitable for join a Flemish State and a State of Brussels, but integrated in the defensive system of France ".
The project of the RDSW will be presented during the Walloon National congress of 1945 but will receive during the “sentimental vote” only 154 votes on: 1048 voters, is 14,6%. After this congress, this current remains discrete until in the Sixties.
It is during the General strike of the winter 1960-1961 - one of the most influential and violent periods of the movement - what appears the renardism, running federalistic for socialist and trade-union Wallonia Walloon Popular movement. The roughness of the events made accept that the things were to go very far, the limit towards the introduction of a Popular republic: In a declaration with the Room of the Representatives of Belgium, on January 17th, the Minister of Interior Department the Lefebvre declares that an action plan concerted was developed and that Safety carries out investigations to check this thesis. . Maurice Chaumont, professor with the catholic Université of Leuwen even proceeded to a enqête proposing the reserves of the working base compared to the federalism: the federalism runs up against to some extent the tradition of apolitical attitude of the Walloon trade-union base and inhabitant of Li2ege in particular, which is especially hostile with the national organization, the trade-union bureaucracy and the established order. The claim of the federalism, in what it represents a change compared to the traditional speech, touches however the workers in their dissatisfaction. And that even if, on January 13rd, 400 Walloon socialist elected officials met in Saint-Were useful to claim in favor of the Walloon people the right to have itself. But this step prepares in fact a meeting with the king Baudouin Ier who will take place the following day.
During the years seventy and the following decade, are born several parties like the Walloon Popular assembly and the Front for the Independence of Wallonia whose program is independence of Wallonia but after several electoral failures, especially that of the European elections of June 17th, 1984, this current falls down in the shade. It is the current rattachist who today gathers the Walloon militants dissatisfied with the result of the institutional reforms in favor of autonomy of Wallonia within the framework of the Walloon region.
Rattachism
See also: Rattachisme
The rattachism, or reunionism as prefer to call it its partisans, is current which promotes the fastening of Wallonia, even also of Brussels, in France. Even apart from this quite precise current, the idea rattachist is subjacent in the other tendencies, but much reject it, either by political realism, or by principle. Others think of it but do not make a declared political objective of it.
There exist rattachists since the all beginnings of Belgium, as Alexandre Gendebien but it is necessary to wait the years 1900 to see some specifically in the Walloon movement with the Count Albert of the Wood of Enghien and its Catéchisme of the Walloon who affirms the French identity. This last took part in the edition of the clearly francophile review Walloon Réveil and rattachist.
This current is represented today by the party Rassemblement Wallonia France.
Implications in the Belgian policy and the Walloon company
The Walloon movement largely contributed to the existing institutional situation in Belgium. He is even the principal craftsman according to certain historians like Lode Wils: Let us not forget that the federalisation Belgium, as a whole, was implemented on the basis of claim of the Walloons. If one presents it today like a great Flemish victory, it is typically about propaganda flamingante.
The Walloon movement, of which many militants had high positions in policy, strongly helped to create the Belgian Fédéralisme, which of aucuns describe as Contrefédéralisme, which proposes two Communautés. As of the rupture between unitarists of the Walloon Parliament and federalists in 1923, the current separatist represented by Jules Destrée will become most important and will push with a federalism with three Régions, choice which will formally be confirmed at the time of the second vote to the Walloon National congress of 1945. This solution of federalism to three will be promoted constantly by the majority of the Walloon militants and finds his result in the reforms of the Constitution voted of 1970 to 2003, insofar as only the Parliaments of the three areas are directly elected.
These reforms voted by the Belgian Parlement since 1970 which led to the creation of a Walloon region satisfy holding them of the federalism and in less those of the confederalism. The latter as Jose Fontaine see in the Belgium federalism of the features of the confederalism like the principle of the Exclusive competence, making the entities federate qualified on the international scene practically without possibility of veto on behalf of the Federal state, and the absence of hierarchy of the standards, i.e. the regional decrees and the federal laws have the same legal authenticity. However the ambivalence of the federalism - three Areas/the two Communities - does not satisfy them all, some wish the suppression of the French Communauté of Belgium with the transfer of its competences culture teaching towards the Walloon region, it is the case of review TOUDI of Jose Fontaine and the Mouvement of Walloon Proclamation.
The currents rattachists and freedom fighters are naturally dissatisfied of federal Belgium of today but their parties which arise to the elections do not succeed in any more electing representatives since 1995.
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