Walloon Region

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This article is about the present-day region of Belgium also known as Wallonia. For a wider context, see Wallonia.

Coordinates: 50°30′N 4°45′E / 50.500°N 4.750°E / 50.500; 4.750

Walloon Region
Région wallonne  (French)
Wallonische Region  (German)
Waals Gewest  (Dutch)
Redjon walone  (Walloon)
Wallounesch Regioun  (Luxembourgish)
Region of Belgium
Flag of Walloon Region
Flag
Coat of arms of Walloon Region
Coat of arms
Anthem: Le Chant des Wallons
Location of Walloon Region
CountryBelgium
CapitalNamur
Government
 • Minister-PresidentElio Di Rupo
Area
 • Total16,844 km2 (6,504 sq mi)
Population
 (1 January 2017)[1]
 • Total3,614,473
Demographics
 • LanguagesFrench, German
ISO 3166 codeBE-WAL
Celebration Day3rd Sunday of September
Websitewww.wallonie.be

The Walloon Region (French: Région wallonne [ʁeʒjɔ̃ walɔn]; German: Wallonische Region; Dutch: Waals gewest), commonly called Wallonia, is one of the three federal Regions of Belgium, and its capital is Namur. It comprises, as defined by Article 5 of the Constitution of Belgium, the provinces of Walloon Brabant, Hainaut, Liège, Luxembourg and Namur. The Walloon Region has an area of 16,844 km² (55.18% of Belgium) with nearly 3.5 million inhabitants (32.4% of the Belgian population).

Created in 1970 following demands from the Walloon Movement for political recognition of Wallonia, it acquired decretal powers and an executive government with the special law of 8 August 1980. These powers are respectively exercised by the Walloon Parliament and the Walloon Government, both sitting in Namur, within the limits defined by the Belgian constitution.

Its official languages are French and German, since the Walloon Region is formed by two language areas of Belgium : the French-speaking and the German-speaking. The region covers only partially the territory of the French Community of Belgium and completely the territory of the German Community of Belgium.

Geography[]

The territory of the Walloon Region is defined by the Belgian constitution as follows:

Art 5. The Walloon region is made up of the following provinces: Walloon Brabant, Hainaut, Liège, Luxembourg and Namur."[2]

In terms of area, the biggest province is Luxembourg with 4,440 km2 (1,710 sq mi), that is also the least populated with 264,084 inhabitants, and the smallest province is Walloon Brabant. The most populated province is Hainaut with 1,300,097 inhabitants.

This territory of 16,844 km² (55.18% of Belgium) occupying the southern part of Belgium is also divided into 20 administrative arrondissements and 262 municipalities.

Emblems[]

Since 15 July 1998, the Walloon Region has had as emblems a coat of arms, a flag, an anthem and a "national" day, although it is not an independent nation.

By a decree of 23 July 2008, the Walloon Region's coat of arms is a scarlet, bold (i.e. brave) cock on a gold background; these arms are also to be the Region's seal and flag.[3] The flag had been designed by Pierre Paulus in 1913 and first adopted in July 1998.[4] It is also the flag of the French Community of Belgium and they share the same "national" day, the French Community Holiday on 27 September. The Region's anthem is Le Chant des Wallons ("Song of the Walloons"), written in the Walloon language by Théophile Bovy in 1900 and set to music composed by Louis Hillier in 1901; a version in French was adopted on 15 July 1998. There is also a logo, consisting of the arms with the baseline "WALLONIE".

Politics[]

Elio Di Rupo is the current Minister-President of the Walloon Region
Main article: Politics of Wallonia

Wallonia has its own powers and does not share them with the other Regions or Communities (except with the Community Wallonia-Brussels but not in the framework of the Belgian constitution, only on the basis of agreements between the Walloon Region and this French Community). Like the other Federating units of Belgium, it is entitled to pursue its own foreign policy, including the signing of treaties. According to Philippe Suinen, it is an exception among federal States, and, as pointed out recently by Michel Quévit, a quasi-State:[5] "From 1831, the year of Belgium's independence, until the federalization of the country in 1970, Wallonia has increasingly asserted itself as a region in its own right.".[6] There is almost no possible veto by the Belgian State (except in very rare situations), and, in many domains, Belgium is not even able to sign an international treaty without the agreement of the Walloon Parliament. There is no legal hierarchy in the structure of the Belgian federal system, no hierarchy between federal and regional authorities. That is the reason why Belgium has many aspects of a Confederation.[7]

The Walloon Parliament in Namur (in pink), at a symbolic place at the confluence of the Meuse and Sambre rivers. Two-thirds of the population of Wallonia lives along the Sambre and Meuse valley.

The directly-elected Walloon Parliament was created in June 1995, replacing the "Conseil régional wallon" (Regional Council of Wallonia). The first Council sat on 15 October 1980 and was composed of members of the Belgian Chamber of People's Representatives and the Belgian Senate elected in Wallonia.

Since 23 April 1993, Belgium has been a federal state made up of Regions and Communities.

Wallonia has a parliament (one chamber with 75 members elected for five years by direct universal suffrage) and a government responsible in front of the parliament. Its parliament exercises two functions:

  • It discusses and passes decrees, and can take initiatives to draw them up. Decrees are then sanctioned and promulgated by the Walloon government.
  • It controls the Walloon government. Control is exercised by vote.
  • It ratifies the international treaties linked to its powers.

The composition of the parliament for the 2009-2014 legislature is as follows:

There are no more representatives of the Front national (nationalist and far right party) in the Walloon Parliament.

The Walloon Government is elected by a political majority in Parliament. The government numbers nine members with the president. Each member is called a "Walloon minister".

The head of the government, called "Minister-President", is Rudy Demotte, member of the Parti Socialiste (PS).

At 16 July 2009, the future coalition government was a centre-left coalition PS-Ecolo-CDh with the same "Minister President" but other ministers, Paul Furlan, , Philippe Henry, a woman Eliane Tillieux and old ministers Jean-Claude Marcourt, André Antoine. The president (speaker) of the Parliament is a member of Ecolo: Patrick Dupriez.

Jurisdiction[]

The constitutional system of Belgium grants the Walloon Region its own legislative and executive powers in the fields for which it is competent:

  • agriculture and rural renewal
  • development of the territory and town planning
  • economy and foreign trade
  • employment and vocational training
  • the environment, water and nature conservation
  • housing
  • local authorities, subsidized works and sports infrastructures
  • scientific research, new technologies and energy
  • international relations
  • health and social affairs
  • tourism and heritage
  • regional transport, mobility and public works.
Public works are attributed to Walloon Region in its territory.

History[]

Main article: History of the Walloon Movement

Belgium gained its independence from the Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1830. Though the new-born country had unifying elements, such as the Catholic religion, a French-speaking bourgeoisie and common economic interests opposed to the Dutch economic ones, the building of a unitary Belgian state posed some serious problems. The language question emerged in 1840. Despite the fact that the free use of languages was enshrined in the Constitution, only French was used in the administration, education and justice systems.[8] The Flemish movement arose to counter this situation and in 1898 succeeded in obtaining official language status for the Dutch language. In the late 19th century, Belgium was divided into two utterly opposed communities. On one hand, the very Catholic Flemish society was characterized by an economy centered on agriculture; on the other hand, Wallonia was the center of the continental European industrial revolution where liberal and socialist movements were rapidly emerging.[8] As a result, Belgium inevitably became the theatre of tensions between these two communities.

In the face of an increasingly self-confident Flanders, the distinct regional identity of the Walloons gradually began to appear. The poet Albert Mockel launched 1886 the review La Wallonie and popularized the name, coined in 1844 by .[8] In 1912, the Walloon movement formed the , which was based on one representative per 40,000 inhabitants.[8] In the period between the two world wars, many Walloon groups demanded a federalization of the country, although such proposals were rejected.[8] The law of 28 June 1932 established monolingualism in the languages areas of Belgium (and bilingualism in Brussels).[8]

In the wake of the strikes of 1960, the State reform in Belgium process of state reform in Belgium got under way. This reform started with the linguistic laws of 1962-63, which defined the four language areas within the Constitution. In 1968, the conflict between the communities burst out. The Walloons were driven out of the university of Leuven amid shouts of "Walen buiten!" ("Walloons out!"). The political divergences caused by this unrest brought about the fall of the Belgian government. The State reform, which led to the creation of three communities and three regions, started in 1970.[8] The goal of the Wallooon Movement was not the Communities but the three Regions. The Walloon Movement (after World War II) differs from the Flemish movement in that it is focused not on cultural and linguistic factors but rather on economic factors.[9]

Cities[]

The largest cities in the region include, as of 2007's population figures: [3]

See also[]

External links[]

References[]

  1. ^ Population per municipality as of 1 January 2017 (XLS; 397 KB)
  2. ^ A version of the Belgian Constitution in English can be found on the website of the Constitutional Court
  3. ^ Decree 23rd July 1998, art. 2
  4. ^ "Wallonia - Walloon Region (Belgium)". Flags Of The World.
  5. ^ Philippe Suinen, "Une première mondiale" in Le Monde dioplomatique, octobre 2000 [1] Michel Quévit [2]
  6. ^ Official Website of the Walloon Region
  7. ^ Rolf Falter, "Belgium's Peculiar Way to Federalism" in Nationalism in Belgium pp. 175-197.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Walloon Region, ed. (2007-01-22). "The region asserts itself (from 1840 to 1970)". Gateway to the Walloon Region. Retrieved 2009-01-14.
  9. ^ Local self-government, territoriality and protection of minorities, Institut de droit suisse comparé, 1996.
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