Wallonia, the French-Speaking Part of Belgium

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Table of Contents

Abstract
Introduction
Basic Facts: Walloon Demography and Economy
Regionalism as Walloon Brand
Unique but not Separate: Failure of Right-Wing Populism in Wallonia
Conclusion
References

Abstract

Wallonia, the southern French-speaking territory of Belgium, went through a long period of economic decline. Regional rebranding and renewal of identity have become essential components of the Walloon recovery strategy. This paper describes Wallonia’s current demographic and economic state and explores the elements of the new Walloon cultural identity. In addition, the paper explains why Wallonia has not adopted right-wing populism and nationalism — the regional identity components noticeable in Flanders, the more successful northern and Dutch-speaking territory of Belgium.

Introduction

Belgium is a diverse and multicultural country consisting of two dominant geographic regions and language communities. In terms of geography, Belgium comprises two main territories — Wallonia and Flanders, and the capital region of Brussels. Flemish, or Dutch, language is spoken in Flanders, the northern part of the country, while Wallonia is predominantly French-speaking (De Jonge, 2021). Over the years, Wallonia has developed a unique, distinctive regional identity. The French language represents an important part of the Walloon cultural code. In contrast to Flanders, Wallonia constructs its civic identity around cohesion and collective consciousness rather than nationalism and ideas of cultural superiority.

Basic Facts: Walloon Demography and Economy

The Walloon culture is closely linked to Belgium’s demographic, economic, and political landscape. Wallonia occupies a significant part of the total Belgian surface area. In particular, the land area of Belgium is 30,528 km², while Wallonia has an area of 16,844 km² (Wallonia and Belgium, n.d.). However, the situation is different in terms of population distribution. The total population of Belgium is 11 million people, with only 3.5 million Belgians living in Wallonia, and 1 million living in Brussels, the capital of the country (Wallonia and Belgium, n.d.). As such, over half of the total Belgian population resides in Flanders.

The roots of such a discrepancy are primarily related to the economic history of Belgium. At the beginning of the 20th century, Wallonia flourished as a center of the Belgian coal and steel industry. However, the decline of the industrial economy resulted in a subsequent shift of economic strength in favor of Flanders (Rudschuck, 2022). The disparity in economic development persists despite the Walloon authorities’ efforts in regional recovery. For instance, in 2021, the unemployment rate stood at 8.9% in Wallonia compared to 3.9% in Flanders. The Walloon per capita GDP prior to the COVID pandemic amounted to €27,600 — significantly lower compared to the Belgian average of €36,600 (Rudschuck, 2022). Wallonia currently attempts to overcome socioeconomic issues via recovery plans based on ideas of regional identity renewal.

Regionalism as Walloon Brand

The Walloon authorities are aware of the economic problems and strive to use cultural identity as a recovery driver. In 2005, Jean-Claude Marcourt, the Walloon Minister of Economy, initiated Marshall Plans, a strategy named after the postwar aid program for Europe (Moscovitz, 2021). The parliamentary debates around Walloon Marshall Plans emphasized the need for cohesion and collective mobilization in the Walloon community. In particular, the Walloon government believed that overcoming a crisis was impossible without cultural renewal. In other words, Wallonia had to develop a regional brand and find a new meaning in the modern world.

The Walloon authorities faced the challenge of redefining internal regional identity in the 21st century. According to Moscovitz (2021), the government emphasized the values of openness and human cordiality to create a new model of Walloon collective consciousness. The ultimate goal was to make Walloons proud of being Walloons. However, the source of regional pride was different from the Flemish scenario. Wallonia was supposed to become a collective project where each resident shares pride in belonging. In that regard, Walloon pride is not exclusionary or nationalistic (Moscovitz, 2021). Instead, the struggling French-speaking part of Belgium strives to regain success via consolidation and positive self-identification.

Unique but not Separate: Failure of Right-Wing Populism in Wallonia

One can trace the difference between Walloon and Flemish regional identities in the example of right-wing populism in local politics. In Flanders, nationalism has become a staple of the political landscape. For instance, in the 2019 Flemish parliamentary election, the far-right Vlaams Belang (Flemish Interest) party won 18.5% of all seats. In contrast, Walloon nationalists never won more than 2.3% of seats in the regional parliament (De Jonge, 2021). As such, one can see that nationalism has failed to get any ground in Wallonia. Moreover, the new Walloon identity has a distinctive anti-nationalist flavor.

One can explain the failure of the radical right-wing agenda in Wallonia through two factors. Most importantly, Walloon social democrats managed to sustain their electorate by remaining consistent and proposing leftist ideas of economic recovery and regional identity. In contrast, Flemish socialists adopted a center-right approach to social issues. As a result, masses of disappointed socialist voters drifted toward nationalists who filled the vacuum (De Jonge, 2021). Secondly, the francophone media in Wallonia have a strict policy of cordon sanitaire médiatique, a form of scrutiny that prevents right-wing propaganda from reaching its potential audience. According to De Jonge (2021), the stereotype of racist Flemish and tolerant Walloons is wrong since both cultures share comparable views on immigration and other sensitive sociopolitical issues. However, right-wing populism does not receive media exposure in Wallonia, which helps local authorities to shape an anti-nationalist regional brand. Ultimately, nationalism fails to become a significant component of the Walloon identity.

Conclusion

Wallonia, the French-speaking part of Belgium, used to be an economic powerhouse of the country. However, the decline of the industrial economy started an era of decline and struggles for the Walloon culture. The Walloon government made cultural identity a vital component of the regional rebranding. In contrast to more economically successful northern neighbors from Flanders, Wallonia builds its regional brand on the anti-nationalist premises of belonging and collective consciousness where every resident is important. In general, the Walloons share similar opinions on socioeconomic and political topics compared to the Flemish. However, the ideological consistency of Walloon mainstream political parties and media policies against right-wing populism leave no place for organized nationalism in the Walloon cultural code.