1960-1961 Winter General Strike
Encyclopedia
1960–1961 Winter General Strike was the most important strike of the 20th century in Belgium and was called the Strike of the Century. Its triggering factor was Eyskens'
government introducing a number of austerity policies under the general name Loi unique. The strike began on 20 december 1960, a few days after the royal wedding between Baudouin I of Belgium and Queen Fabiola of Belgium
. This strike was especially hard in Wallonia.
, the secondary school war (1954–1958), and Wallonia's industrial decline (since the end of World War II
). The workers' anger spread to all industrial areas, including Flanders, and especially Ghent
and Antwerp. The movement quickly turned into a general strike in the region but only a minority support in Flanders
(...) After the strike, comparisons were drawn in Wallonia 'between the remarkable success of the general strike' there and its 'relative failure in Flanders'. Some elements in the Walloon labour movement conclude that its activities would be condemned to years of stagnation if it remanded tied to the concept of a unitary Belgium'.
The mineworkers, steel-workers, and public servants became the spearheads of the movement. Facing the Catholic-Liberal coalition Eyskens' government, the socialists federated the party, the trade union, and the socialist mutual insurance in the Common Action. The public service socialist trade union (CGSP) of the civil servants and steel-workers were the most violent. Philip Mosley is even speaking of a longer period, beginning with Misère au Borinage
, the hard strike of 1932 which Misère au Borinage is telling about and he wrote Matters worsened in 1956 with the Marcinelle disaster
, whose victims included many immigrants, and then with release of initial closure plans for Walloon mines. In scene reminiscent of Storck's Borinage
film of 1933, social unrest in the area near Mons
escalated into general strike of 1960 and 1961."
- thus before the beginning of the strike - André Renard
, Secretary-General of the General Federation of Belgian Labour
made this statement to syndicalists:
Renée C.Fox explained the affair in a few words:
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In their Political History of Belgium: From 1830 Onwards, Els Witte, Jan Craeybeckx, Alain Meynen described the violence in Wallonia in some short impressive sentences:
They pointed out also the differences between Flanders and Wallonia:
In Saint-Servais (Namur
), Socialist Deputies from Wallonia held a meeting without the Flemish Socialist members, issued a communiqué without precedent in Belgian political history. The communiqué noted that government policies accentuate and accelerate the deterioration of the economic situation of Wallonia, and declared that if these policies are not changed, the Walloon people will have no alternative but the revision of the unitary institutions of the country in order to choose itself the means for its economic and social expansion.
thought the social movement He died a few month later (july 1962). But he gave his name to the Renardism
which is also, both ideologically and pragmatically, the programm of the most important part of the Walloon Movement
since the general strike of the winter of 1960–1961.
Under the pseudonym of Paul Cardan Cornelius Castoriadis
published in Socialisme ou Barbarie
articles under the titles La signification des grèves belges (nummer 32, 1961), Le mouvement révolutionnaire sous le capitalisme moderne (nummer 31, 1960–1961) and Le mouvement révolutionnaire sous le capitalisme moderne (suite) (nummer 32, 1961). These articles were translated in English by Maurice Brinton in 1965, under the title Modern capitalism and revolution (by Solidarity London). Cornelius Catoriadis wrote an introduction for the second edition in 1974, where he explained, especially for the 1960–1961 general strike: Each particular crisis may appear to be an 'accident'. But in contemporary society the existence of such accidents and their periodic recurrence (although not their regular repetition): are absolutely inevitable. The crisis may be a recession more prolonged than normal. It may be an episode of a colonial war. It may be the American Negroes refusing to submit any longer to racial discrimination. It may be a major scandal shattering this or that hallowed institution. It may be that the Belgian coal mines are discovered, from one day to the next, to be no longer profitable, and that the rulers of the country simply decide to wipe out the Borinage
, with its hundreds of thousands of inhabitants, from the economic map. It may be that Belgium
's government, in order to rationalize its finances, provokes a general strike
of a million workers which lasts a month.
Ernest Mandel
also published a survey of this general strike in Les Temps modernes
where he tried to explain the differences between Wallonia and Flanders
.
had become a mass movement led by the Walloon wing of the General Federation of Belgian Labour
.
Through the foundation of the Mouvement populaire wallon during the Great Strike that took place in the Winter 1960–1961, the Walloon working class now also demanded federalism as well as structural reforms. This strike is the origin of the Renardism
combining Syndicalism
and Walloon militancy
.
Actively involved in General Federation of Belgian Labour
, André Cools
participated ine the Strike of the Century. XWhen the Mouvement populaire wallon was founded, Colls joined its ranks. In 1963, he refused to vote legislation limiting the right to strike. He became vice prime minister in the Gaston Eyskens
's Government (1968–1971). Cools'sprimary objective as president of the Belgian Socialist Party was to assure it a dominant role in the economic regionalization of Wallonia. With him and Guy Spitaels
, In the early 1980s, the PS played a leading role in transformation the unitary structures of the Belgian state into a federalist system. The transformation was largely accomplished by 1989 and completely formalized in 1993.
(1929–2009), for instance, was strongly linked to the social strikes in Liège
during the 1960s. But also a writer as Jean Louvet
in La Louvière
whose the work is full of the famous winter strike, for instance Le train du Bon Dieu. Also the Dardenne brothers
, with for instance Lorsque le bateau de Léon M. descendit la Meuse pour la première fois (1979) , Thierry Michel with Hiver 60 Chronique des saisons d'acier etc. Louvet was one of the key figures signing the Manifesto for Walloon culture
. Although the cultural aspect was already present in the “renardisme”
, it was with the Manifeste pour la culture wallonne that culture truly became a priority within the Walloon culture. Conversely, some defenders of the French-speaking community
have supported the idea of a fusion between the Walloon Region and the French-speaking Community. It’s the argument of the “French-speaking Nation” defended at the time by the president of the PRL, Jean Gol
, and others who blamed the regionalists of “falling back on” a Walloon identity. Recently a Brussels
regionalism
has arisen, in particular through the association “Manifesto” which advocates the development of educational and cultural policies adapted to the needs of the Brussels Region. The Walloon and Brussels regionalists privilege an institutional system based on three Regions with equal levels of autonomy and power. The Flemish movement has always preferred a system composed of two main regions, Flanders and Wallonia, for the joint rule of the Brussels Region.
Gaston Eyskens
Gaston François Marie, Viscount Eyskens was a Belgian economist, Christian Democratic politician of the CVP-PSC, and statesman.He was a six-time Prime Minister of Belgium from 1949 to 1950, 1958 to 1961 and 1968 to 1973...
government introducing a number of austerity policies under the general name Loi unique. The strike began on 20 december 1960, a few days after the royal wedding between Baudouin I of Belgium and Queen Fabiola of Belgium
Queen Fabiola of Belgium
Queen Fabiola of Belgium is the widow of King Baudouin of Belgium. She was Queen consort of the Belgians for 33 years...
. This strike was especially hard in Wallonia.
Historical Background
This strike ended a decade of deep social unrest linked to the Royal Question (1940–1950) linked to the war policy of Leopold III of BelgiumLeopold III of Belgium
Leopold III reigned as King of the Belgians from 1934 until 1951, when he abdicated in favour of the Heir Apparent,...
, the secondary school war (1954–1958), and Wallonia's industrial decline (since the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
). The workers' anger spread to all industrial areas, including Flanders, and especially Ghent
Ghent
Ghent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...
and Antwerp. The movement quickly turned into a general strike in the region but only a minority support in Flanders
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
(...) After the strike, comparisons were drawn in Wallonia 'between the remarkable success of the general strike' there and its 'relative failure in Flanders'. Some elements in the Walloon labour movement conclude that its activities would be condemned to years of stagnation if it remanded tied to the concept of a unitary Belgium'.
The mineworkers, steel-workers, and public servants became the spearheads of the movement. Facing the Catholic-Liberal coalition Eyskens' government, the socialists federated the party, the trade union, and the socialist mutual insurance in the Common Action. The public service socialist trade union (CGSP) of the civil servants and steel-workers were the most violent. Philip Mosley is even speaking of a longer period, beginning with Misère au Borinage
Misère au Borinage
Misère au Borinage is a 1933 Belgian documentary film directed by Henri Storck and Joris Ivens.The film opens with these words: Crisis in the Capitalist World. Factories are closed down, abandoned...
, the hard strike of 1932 which Misère au Borinage is telling about and he wrote Matters worsened in 1956 with the Marcinelle disaster
Marcinelle
Marcinelle is a Walloon town in the Belgian province of Hainaut, it is currently a municipality within the Charleroi borders. Until 1977, the town was a municipality of its own....
, whose victims included many immigrants, and then with release of initial closure plans for Walloon mines. In scene reminiscent of Storck's Borinage
Borinage
The Borinage is an area in the Walloon province of Hainaut. The provincial capital Mons is located in the east of the Borinage. In French the inhabitants are called Borains...
film of 1933, social unrest in the area near Mons
Mons
Mons is a Walloon city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Hainaut, of which it is the capital. The Mons municipality includes the old communes of Cuesmes, Flénu, Ghlin, Hyon, Nimy, Obourg, Baudour , Jemappes, Ciply, Harmignies, Harveng, Havré, Maisières, Mesvin, Nouvelles,...
escalated into general strike of 1960 and 1961."
André Renard leader of a Walloon strike
Already on 17 November 1960 at CharleroiCharleroi
Charleroi is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. , the total population of Charleroi was 201,593. The metropolitan area, including the outer commuter zone, covers an area of and had a total population of 522,522 as of 1 January 2008, ranking it as...
- thus before the beginning of the strike - André Renard
André Renard
André Renard , was the leader of an important tendency in the Walloon tradeunionism-Resistance and a new faction in the Syndicalism:...
, Secretary-General of the General Federation of Belgian Labour
General Federation of Belgian Labour
-External links:* Official site.*...
made this statement to syndicalists:
They made us believe in the socialist opening in Flanders. Just look at numbers. 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 embrace the walloon theses because they are socialist.
Renée C.Fox explained the affair in a few words:
At the beginning of the 1960s (...), a major reversal in the relationship between Flanders and Wallony was taking place. Flanders had entered a vigorous, post-World War II period of industrialization, and a significant percentage of the foreign capital (particularly from the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
), coming into Belgium to support new industries was being invested in Flanders. In contrast, Wallony's coal mines and time-worn steel plants and factories were in crisis. The region had lost thousands of jobs and much investment capital. A new Dutch-speaking, upwardly mobile "populist bourgeoisie" was not only becoming visible and vocal in Flemish movements but also in both the local and national policy [The strike of December 1960 against the austerity law of Gaston EyskensGaston EyskensGaston François Marie, Viscount Eyskens was a Belgian economist, Christian Democratic politician of the CVP-PSC, and statesman.He was a six-time Prime Minister of Belgium from 1949 to 1950, 1958 to 1961 and 1968 to 1973...
] was replaced by a collective expression of the frustrations, anxieties, and grievances that Wallony was experiencing in response to its altered situation, and by the demands of the newly formed Mouvement populaire wallon for (...) regional autonomy for Wallony....
Violence and pre-revolutionary tension in Wallonia
The socialist public sector union ACOD (Algemene Centrale der Openbare Diensten) [in French CGSP, Centrale Générale des Services Publics] started off with a strike of government personnel on 20 December 1960 and immediately drew tens of thousands of Walloon private sector into the action. It plunged the country into crisis for a full five weeks. Some 700,000 strikers opposed the government and many spilled out onto the streets for mass demonstrations on an almost daily basis. Over 300 demonstrations marked the tumultuous times. The most important public institutions were completely paralysed for weeks on end and some strikers' unit turned into semi-autonomous strike committees that tried to organise the social life of their backers. There were signs of pre-revolutionary tension in Wallonia. Walloon socialist mayors professed solidarity with the strikers and refused to execute the orders of the central government. Barricades throughout the BorinageBorinageThe Borinage is an area in the Walloon province of Hainaut. The provincial capital Mons is located in the east of the Borinage. In French the inhabitants are called Borains...
Walloon industrial belt isolated many places. The government used sheer violence and ideology to turn the situation around. Powerful moral voices, like Cardinal Van RoeyJozef-Ernest van RoeyJozef-Ernest van Roey was a Belgian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Mechelen from 1926 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1927.-Biography:...
, condemned the strike movement and even called it criminal. In a sense, it legitimised the threat to use violence against the strikers. From the start, violent repression had been part of the government scenario. Over 18,000 state policemen had been mobilised to dismantle the strike pickets and guard key areas. The army reinforced the state police forces. Up to 15,000 troops guarded industrial buildings, bridges and tunnels, train stations and post offices. The strikers matched the increase of violence of the security forces. In Wallonia, army troops had to wade through caltropCaltropA caltrop is an antipersonnel weapon made up of two or more sharp nails or spines arranged in such a manner that one of them always points upward from a stable base...
s, trees, concrete blocks, car and crane wrecks to advance. Streets were dug up. LiègeLiègeLiège is a major city and municipality of Belgium located in the province of Liège, of which it is the economic capital, in Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Belgium....
saw the worst fighting on 6 january 1961. In all, 75 people were injured during seven hours of street battles. Two injured strikers died a few days later. The following weekend sabotage increased in the provinces of Liège and Hainaut. A train was derailed and there were attacks on bridges and high-voltage lines. Some 3,000 Belgian troops were brought in from GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
to protect rail and electricity infrastructure. On 9 January the security forces started arresting strikers manning the pickets to prevent any attempt of revolt. Some 2,000 strikers were arrested, and about half were sentenced to one month or more in prison.
They pointed out also the differences between Flanders and Wallonia:
The strike laid bare the different labour approaches of Flanders and Wallonia. South of the linguistic border, the strike quickly spread to all sectors of social life and the Liège steel workers used it to boost the structural reform programme of the socialist FGTBGeneral Federation of Belgian Labour-External links:* Official site.*...
union. The Walloon workers were also threatened by the decline of Wallonia's industry, including the closure of coal minesCoal miningThe goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
. They wanted fundamental reform and demanded that the financial companies be stripped of economic decision-making powers.
In Saint-Servais (Namur
Namur (city)
Namur is a city and municipality in Wallonia, in southern Belgium. It is both the capital of the province of Namur and of Wallonia....
), Socialist Deputies from Wallonia held a meeting without the Flemish Socialist members, issued a communiqué without precedent in Belgian political history. The communiqué noted that government policies accentuate and accelerate the deterioration of the economic situation of Wallonia, and declared that if these policies are not changed, the Walloon people will have no alternative but the revision of the unitary institutions of the country in order to choose itself the means for its economic and social expansion.
Political and sociological surveys
After the strike André Renard wrote that this movement was a strike as Georges SorelGeorges Sorel
Georges Eugène Sorel was a French philosopher and theorist of revolutionary syndicalism. His notion of the power of myth in people's lives inspired Marxists and Fascists. It is, together with his defense of violence, the contribution for which he is most often remembered. Oron J...
thought the social movement He died a few month later (july 1962). But he gave his name to the Renardism
Renardism
Renardism is a theory specific to the socialism based on the thought of André Renard, combining Syndicalism and Walloon militancy.In a speech on November 17, 1960 at Charleroi, in front of a large gathering of syndicalists, André Renard partly explained the tactical aspects of his theory as...
which is also, both ideologically and pragmatically, the programm of the most important part of the Walloon Movement
Walloon Movement
The Walloon Movement is an umbrella term for all Belgian political movements that either assert the existence of a Walloon identity or defend French culture and language within Belgium. The movement began as a defence of the primacy of French but later gained political and socio-economic objectives...
since the general strike of the winter of 1960–1961.
Under the pseudonym of Paul Cardan Cornelius Castoriadis
Cornelius Castoriadis
Cornelius Castoriadis was a Greek philosopher, social critic, economist, psychoanalyst, author of The Imaginary Institution of Society, and co-founder of the Socialisme ou Barbarie group.-Early life in Athens:...
published in Socialisme ou Barbarie
Socialisme ou Barbarie
Socialisme ou Barbarie was a French-based radical libertarian socialist group of the post-World War II period . It existed from 1948 until 1965...
articles under the titles La signification des grèves belges (nummer 32, 1961), Le mouvement révolutionnaire sous le capitalisme moderne (nummer 31, 1960–1961) and Le mouvement révolutionnaire sous le capitalisme moderne (suite) (nummer 32, 1961). These articles were translated in English by Maurice Brinton in 1965, under the title Modern capitalism and revolution (by Solidarity London). Cornelius Catoriadis wrote an introduction for the second edition in 1974, where he explained, especially for the 1960–1961 general strike: Each particular crisis may appear to be an 'accident'. But in contemporary society the existence of such accidents and their periodic recurrence (although not their regular repetition): are absolutely inevitable. The crisis may be a recession more prolonged than normal. It may be an episode of a colonial war. It may be the American Negroes refusing to submit any longer to racial discrimination. It may be a major scandal shattering this or that hallowed institution. It may be that the Belgian coal mines are discovered, from one day to the next, to be no longer profitable, and that the rulers of the country simply decide to wipe out the Borinage
Borinage
The Borinage is an area in the Walloon province of Hainaut. The provincial capital Mons is located in the east of the Borinage. In French the inhabitants are called Borains...
, with its hundreds of thousands of inhabitants, from the economic map. It may be that Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
's government, in order to rationalize its finances, provokes a general strike
General strike
A general strike is a strike action by a critical mass of the labour force in a city, region, or country. While a general strike can be for political goals, economic goals, or both, it tends to gain its momentum from the ideological or class sympathies of the participants...
of a million workers which lasts a month.
Ernest Mandel
Ernest Mandel
Ernest Ezra Mandel, also known by various pseudonyms such as Ernest Germain, Pierre Gousset, Henri Vallin, Walter , was a revolutionary Marxist theorist.-Life:...
also published a survey of this general strike in Les Temps modernes
Les Temps modernes
The first issue of Les Temps modernes , the most important cultural review of the period after World War II, appeared in October 1945. It was known as the review of Jean-Paul Sartre. It was named for a film by Charlie Chaplin...
where he tried to explain the differences between Wallonia and Flanders
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
.
Political consequences
By 1960, the Walloon movementWalloon Movement
The Walloon Movement is an umbrella term for all Belgian political movements that either assert the existence of a Walloon identity or defend French culture and language within Belgium. The movement began as a defence of the primacy of French but later gained political and socio-economic objectives...
had become a mass movement led by the Walloon wing of the General Federation of Belgian Labour
General Federation of Belgian Labour
-External links:* Official site.*...
.
Through the foundation of the Mouvement populaire wallon during the Great Strike that took place in the Winter 1960–1961, the Walloon working class now also demanded federalism as well as structural reforms. This strike is the origin of the Renardism
Renardism
Renardism is a theory specific to the socialism based on the thought of André Renard, combining Syndicalism and Walloon militancy.In a speech on November 17, 1960 at Charleroi, in front of a large gathering of syndicalists, André Renard partly explained the tactical aspects of his theory as...
combining Syndicalism
Syndicalism
Syndicalism is a type of economic system proposed as a replacement for capitalism and an alternative to state socialism, which uses federations of collectivised trade unions or industrial unions...
and Walloon militancy
Walloon Movement
The Walloon Movement is an umbrella term for all Belgian political movements that either assert the existence of a Walloon identity or defend French culture and language within Belgium. The movement began as a defence of the primacy of French but later gained political and socio-economic objectives...
.
Actively involved in General Federation of Belgian Labour
General Federation of Belgian Labour
-External links:* Official site.*...
, André Cools
André Cools
André H.P. Cools was a Belgian socialist politician who died by assassination.-Political career:Cools had a long and distinguished political career...
participated ine the Strike of the Century. XWhen the Mouvement populaire wallon was founded, Colls joined its ranks. In 1963, he refused to vote legislation limiting the right to strike. He became vice prime minister in the Gaston Eyskens
Gaston Eyskens
Gaston François Marie, Viscount Eyskens was a Belgian economist, Christian Democratic politician of the CVP-PSC, and statesman.He was a six-time Prime Minister of Belgium from 1949 to 1950, 1958 to 1961 and 1968 to 1973...
's Government (1968–1971). Cools'sprimary objective as president of the Belgian Socialist Party was to assure it a dominant role in the economic regionalization of Wallonia. With him and Guy Spitaels
Guy Spitaels
Guy G. A. Gh. Spitaels is a Belgian politician of the Socialist Party. He graduated in 1957 in political and social sciences at the Universite Catholique de Louvain ....
, In the early 1980s, the PS played a leading role in transformation the unitary structures of the Belgian state into a federalist system. The transformation was largely accomplished by 1989 and completely formalized in 1993.
Cultural consequences
Henri PousseurHenri Pousseur
Henri Pousseur was a Belgian composer.-Biography:Pousseur studied at the Academies of Music in Liège and in Brussels from 1947 to 1953. He was closely associated with Pierre Froidebise and André Souris...
(1929–2009), for instance, was strongly linked to the social strikes in Liège
Liège
Liège is a major city and municipality of Belgium located in the province of Liège, of which it is the economic capital, in Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Belgium....
during the 1960s. But also a writer as Jean Louvet
Jean Louvet (playwright)
Jean Louvet is a Belgian playwright.He was born in Moustier-sur-Sambre, the son of a miner, and lived a working-class childhood. Three years in the army paid for his studies in Romance philology, and he spent time in academia, but turned to the theater to give expression to his left-wing politics...
in La Louvière
La Louvière
La Louvière is a Walloon city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Hainaut. La Louvière's municipality includes the old communes of Haine-Saint-Paul, Haine-Saint-Pierre, Saint-Vaast, Trivières, Boussoit, Houdeng-Aimeries, Houdeng-Gœgnies, Maurage, and Strépy-Bracquegnies...
whose the work is full of the famous winter strike, for instance Le train du Bon Dieu. Also the Dardenne brothers
Dardenne brothers
Brothers Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne are a Belgian filmmaking duo...
, with for instance Lorsque le bateau de Léon M. descendit la Meuse pour la première fois (1979) , Thierry Michel with Hiver 60 Chronique des saisons d'acier etc. Louvet was one of the key figures signing the Manifesto for Walloon culture
Manifesto for Walloon culture
The Manifesto for Walloon Culture , was published in Liège on 15 September 1983 and signed ‘by seventy-five key figures in artistic, journalistic and university circles’ of Wallonia....
. Although the cultural aspect was already present in the “renardisme”
Renardism
Renardism is a theory specific to the socialism based on the thought of André Renard, combining Syndicalism and Walloon militancy.In a speech on November 17, 1960 at Charleroi, in front of a large gathering of syndicalists, André Renard partly explained the tactical aspects of his theory as...
, it was with the Manifeste pour la culture wallonne that culture truly became a priority within the Walloon culture. Conversely, some defenders of the French-speaking community
French Community of Belgium
The French Community of Belgium is one of the three official communities in Belgium along with the Flemish Community and the German speaking Community. Although its name could suggest that it is a community of French citizens in Belgium, it is not...
have supported the idea of a fusion between the Walloon Region and the French-speaking Community. It’s the argument of the “French-speaking Nation” defended at the time by the president of the PRL, Jean Gol
Jean Gol
Jean Gol was a Belgian politician for the liberal party Parti Réformateur Libéral and a freemason...
, and others who blamed the regionalists of “falling back on” a Walloon identity. Recently a Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
regionalism
Regionalism (politics)
Regionalism is a term used in international relations. Regionalism also constitutes one of the three constituents of the international commercial system...
has arisen, in particular through the association “Manifesto” which advocates the development of educational and cultural policies adapted to the needs of the Brussels Region. The Walloon and Brussels regionalists privilege an institutional system based on three Regions with equal levels of autonomy and power. The Flemish movement has always preferred a system composed of two main regions, Flanders and Wallonia, for the joint rule of the Brussels Region.
External links
- General Strike diary
- Combat Monthly magazine of the Mouvement populaire wallon (december 1990)
See also
- General strikeGeneral strikeA general strike is a strike action by a critical mass of the labour force in a city, region, or country. While a general strike can be for political goals, economic goals, or both, it tends to gain its momentum from the ideological or class sympathies of the participants...
- Belgian general strikesBelgian general strikesThe Belgian general strikes were a peculiar phenomenon of the social, economical and political life in Belgium due to huge concentrations of workers in the Belgian Cities as Ghent, Antwerp, mainly in Wallonia, in Charleroi and Liège but also in other places in the Walloon Sillon industriel, e.g....
- List of strikes
- Walloon jacquerie of 1886Walloon Jacquerie of 1886The Walloon jacquerie of 1886 was a working class jacquerie of a bloody spring as many Walloon scholars are calling it This violent upheaval of the Belgian, especially Walloon proletariat, caused a profound psychological shock in an atmosphere of fear of an inevitable and explosive social...
- Belgian general strike of 1893Belgian general strike of 1893The Belgian general strike of 1893 was ordered by the General Board of the Belgian Labour Party after the Belgian Parliament rejected the Law Proposal on universal suffrage....
- André RenardAndré RenardAndré Renard , was the leader of an important tendency in the Walloon tradeunionism-Resistance and a new faction in the Syndicalism:...
- RenardismRenardismRenardism is a theory specific to the socialism based on the thought of André Renard, combining Syndicalism and Walloon militancy.In a speech on November 17, 1960 at Charleroi, in front of a large gathering of syndicalists, André Renard partly explained the tactical aspects of his theory as...
- History of WalloniaHistory of WalloniaThe history of Wallonia, from pre-historic times to the present day, is that of a territory which, since 1970, has approximately coincided with the territory of the Walloon Region, a federated component which includes the smaller German-speaking Community of Belgium . Wallonia is the name...
- General Federation of Belgian LabourGeneral Federation of Belgian Labour-External links:* Official site.*...
- History of BelgiumHistory of BelgiumThe history of Belgium, from pre-history to the present day, is intertwined with the histories of its European neighbours, in particular those of the Netherlands and Luxembourg...
- Misère au BorinageMisère au BorinageMisère au Borinage is a 1933 Belgian documentary film directed by Henri Storck and Joris Ivens.The film opens with these words: Crisis in the Capitalist World. Factories are closed down, abandoned...
- MarcinelleMarcinelleMarcinelle is a Walloon town in the Belgian province of Hainaut, it is currently a municipality within the Charleroi borders. Until 1977, the town was a municipality of its own....