French Community of Belgium
French Community of Belgium Franse Gemeenschap van België ( Dutch ) Communauté française de Belgique ( French ) |
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Member State of the Kingdom of Belgium | ||
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Type of state : | Community | |
Official language : | French | |
Administrative headquarters : | Brussels | |
Residents : |
4,200,000 (2006, of which: • Wallonia 3,602,216 (2016, minus de , fl ) • Brussels 1,138,876 (2012, minus fl, de)) |
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Holiday: | September 27th | |
Prime Minister : | Pierre-Yves Jeholet ( PS ) | |
Website: | www.federation-wallonie-bruxelles.be | |
Location in Belgium | ||
The French Community of Belgium ( French Communauté française de Belgique , Dutch Franse Gemeenschap van België ) is, alongside the Flemish Community and the German-speaking Community, one of the three communities of the Kingdom of Belgium and thus a member state of the Belgian federal state.
Denomination controversy
The self-designation introduced by the Francophone side - not included in the Belgian constitution and not accepted by the Flemish side - is Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles ("Federation Wallonie-Brussels"). Flemish and francophone politicians accuse each other of claiming the bilingual Brussels-Capital region for their own side, which is one reason for the Flemish side's rejection of the name Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles .
On May 25, 2011, the name French Community of Belgium was replaced by the name Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles ("Federation Wallonie-Brussels") by unilateral decision of the Parliament of the French Community of Belgium . The renaming was intended to emphasize both the independence of Brussels as a region and the togetherness of the francophone inhabitants of Brussels and Wallonia. In particular, the independence of Brussels was questioned in advance by the Flemish side, as Brussels was historically a Dutch-speaking city for a long time and is still claimed to be Flemish by the Flemish side. The renaming aroused criticism from Flemish politicians, who saw the explicit emphasis on Brussels in the new name as a step towards the annexation of Brussels by the French community. The Prime Minister of the Flemish Region, Kris Peeters, refused to recognize the organs of this federation because it had no constitutional legitimacy. The renaming of the French Community of Belgium to the Wallonia-Brussels Federation is often viewed by its mostly Flemish critics as a political and tactical instrument used by French-speaking politicians. In a survey carried out in March 2013, according to which 68 percent of Brussels residents would be in favor of an independent Brussels in the event of the division of Belgium, whereas only 26 percent of those questioned in Brussels were in favor of a federation with Wallonia, there was a lack of support for the renaming.
As a result of the constitutional concerns, the name French Community of Belgium continues to appear in the Belgian constitution, while the name Wallonia-Brussels Federation is used throughout the publications of the French Community . The German-speaking Community uses the term French Community , but in some cases also the Wallonia-Brussels Federation . A new logo was introduced at the same time as the new name. Instead of the red rooster on a yellow background, a logo made up of three stylized letters (FWB) in the colors red, yellow and blue is used.
Geographical area of responsibility
The French Community of Belgium is responsible for the largest (French-speaking) part of the Walloon Region as well as for the French-speaking part of the population of the Brussels-Capital Region . It is not responsible for the residents of the area of the German-speaking Community , which is located in the Walloon Region, and it is also not responsible for the Dutch- speaking part of the population in the Brussels-Capital Region .
Institutions
The French Community of Belgium has a parliament ( French Parlement de la Communauté française de Belgique ) and a government responsible for it. The seat of the institutions of the French Community of Belgium is Brussels .
Surname | Beginning of the term of office | Term expires | Political party |
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Philippe Moureaux (first time) | 22nd December 1981 | December 9, 1985 | PS |
Philippe Monfils | December 9, 1985 | February 2nd, 1988 | PRL |
Philippe Moureaux (second time) | February 2nd, 1988 | May 9, 1988 | PS |
Valmy Feaux | May 11, 1988 | January 7, 1992 | PS |
Bernard Anselme | January 7, 1992 | May 4th 1993 | PS |
Laurette Onkelinx | May 6, 1993 | July 13, 1999 | PS |
Hervé Hasquin | July 14, 1999 | July 18, 2004 | PRL / MR |
Marie Arena | July 19, 2004 | March 20, 2008 | PS |
Rudy Demotte | March 20, 2008 | 17th September 2019 | PS |
Pierre-Yves Jeholet | 17th September 2019 | officiating | MR |
Competencies
In Belgium, communities are responsible for culture, education, language and parts of social affairs.
See also
- Political system of Belgium and in it u. a. also:
- the Flemish Community , which includes the Dutch-speaking area and the bilingual Brussels-Capital area
- the German-speaking Community (often abbreviated to “DG” in German-speaking Belgium), which exclusively includes the German-speaking area
Web links
- Website of the French Community of Belgium (French)
- Government of the French Community of Belgium (Wallonia-Brussels Federation) (French)
- Parliament of the French Community of Belgium (multilingual)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Renaming FWB (French)
- ↑ Link to rename
- ↑ Kris Peeters does not recognize the FWB. In: De Standaard , May 25, 2011 (Dutch)
- ↑ Brusselaars liever onafhankelijk as België burst . In: De Standaard , March 23, 2013 (Dutch)
- ↑ Brussels prefer to be independent . ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) deredactie.be, March 23, 2013 (German)
- ↑ http://www.ostbelgienlive.be/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-97/205_read-918/
- ↑ http://www.ostbelgienlive.be/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-1989/3283_read-30047/