Dernière mise-à-jour Last update : 31-JAN-2005
Wallonien
Some data
Area : 16 844 km² (including 827 km² for the German-Speaking Community [Deutsch. Gemeinschaft -- Cantons of Eupen and Sankt-Vith])
Population : 3 358 560 inhabitants (including 70 831 German speakers) (2002)
- 90,75% Walloons
- 9,25% foreigners
- 7,47% EU citizens (4,11% Italian, 1,,69%% French, 0,48% German, 0,41% Spanish...)
- 1,78% non-EU citizens (0,40% Morrocaan, 0,33% Turk...)
Density : 199 inhabitants/km² (86 inhabitants/km² in the German-Speaking Community)
Languages : (official) French, German in the cantons of Eupen & Sankt-Vith;
(unofficial) Walloon, Picard, Lorrain,
Luxembourgian, Champenois
National anthem: Le Chant des Wallons
(The Walloons' Song) (if you have the plugin, you should hear it now)
National feast day: third Sunday of September (Dutch army fled Wallonia in
1830), called "Les Fêtes de Wallonie"
Capital : Namur (Nameur)
Seat of the economical institutions :
Liège (Lîdje)
Seat of the social institutions :
Charleroi (Châlèrwè)
Cities : Charleroi (200 578), Liège (184 944), Namur (105 386), Mons (Mont) (90 831), La Louvière (76 533), Tournai (Tournè) (67 234), Seraing (60 557), Verviers (Vervî) (52 943), Mouscron (52 492)
Political status : autonomous federate state of Belgium since
6th February 1993
Parlement : 75 members elected for a 5-year tearm on the same day as European Parliament election
Minister-President of the Walloon Government :
1981-1985 : Guy Coëme, PS+PSC+PRL, (parliamentary election of 8-NOV-1981);
1985-1988 : Melchior Wathelet, PSC+PRL, (parliamentary election of 10-NOV-1985);
1988-1992 : Bernard Anselme, PS+PSC, (parliamentary election of 13-DEC-1987);
1992-1995 : Guy Spitaels, PS+PSC, (parliamentary election of 29-NOV-1991);
1995-1999 : Robert Collignon, PS+PSC, (parliamentary election of 21-MAY-1995);
1999-2000 : Elio Di Rupo, PS+PRL+ECOLO, (parliamentary election of 13-JUN-1999);
2000- : Jean-Claude Van Cauwenberghe, PS+PRL+ECOLO
Site of the federal state of Belgium
Site of Wallonie
Mirror-site of Wallonie
Site of WallonieWeb
Site of Wallonie en Ligne
Site of the German-speaking Government
Independentist movement : Wallonie Libre
Regionalist movement : formerly, Le Rassemblement Wallon;
Partei der deutschsprachigen
Belgier (Party of the German-speaking Belgians)
1: Fourons (Voeren in Dutch) is a Flemish municipality, formerly in Wallonia, but with a historical Flemish dialect. Due to the geographical and historical situation, the will of a majority of Fouronnais (French-speaking) and Walloons is to see Fourons coming back to Wallonia. For more information (in French), there is the Retour à Liège organization.
2: Brussel (Bruxelles in French) is an autonomous region inside Belgium. It is today neither a Flemish province, nor a Walloon one. Brussel is historically a Flemish city (capital of Flanders), but is today inhabitated by 80% of French-speaking Brusselers (note they are not Walloon).
3: Comines (Komen in Dutch) is a Walloon municipality formerly under Flemish administration, exchanged in the same time as Fourons in 1963. There is today 90% of French and Picard speakers in Comines, but the names of the villages are Flemish : Komen, Ploegsteert, Waasten, Houthem.
4: The German-speaking Community (in German : Deutschsprachigen Gemeinschaft) is an integral historical part of Wallonia (except when it was under German administration in 1815-1919, with the towns of Malmédy and Waimes). Its inhabitants are much closer to the Belgians (and the Luxembourgers) than to the Germans.
Wallonia is an historically majoritary romance land. The national language, Walloon, is a langue d'oïl, close to French, Picard, Champenois, Lorrain languages. Walloon has not yet official status in Belgium, and so is a threatened language. Only 10% of the Walloons speak it actively, and they are majoritarily old people. Youth is not interested by learning Walloon, due to a frenchification by the Belgian state, and later the Communauté française. Passive knowledge of Walloon is still hopefully much more frequent. We are also using lot of Walloon words when speaking French. We so speak a dialect of French, the French of Wallonia.
Examples :
"Je n'peux nin" = Je ne peux pas (I am not allowed)
"Il est biesse" = Il est bête (He is dumb)
"Tu me choutes, oui ou non ?" = Tu m'écoutes, oui ou non ? (Are you listening to me, aren't you ?) Beware: these examples are NOT Walloon language, but Walloon-French, a French dialect spoken in Wallonia.
For those interested, and a great thanks to Lucyin Mahin, here is the translation of the three Walloon-French sentences above, in Walloon :
Dji n' pu nen (Variantes: dju n' pu nin, djè n' pu né,
dji n' pu ni) = I am not allowed
Dji n' sé nen (Variantes: dju n' sé nin,
dji n' sé né, djè n' sé nu) = I
can not
No change for "he is dumb" : Il est biesse.
Ti m' schoûtes, oyi u nonna ? Variantes: (Tu m' choûtes,
ây û nonnè / Ti
m' hoûte, oyi ou nonna ? / Tè m' ascoûtes, oyi ou non)
= Are you listening to me, aren't you ?
One picîye di grammére
Le pronom terminé par 'i' change ce 'i' en 'è' devant un pronom
commencant par 'l' :
tu rêves (you are dreaming) = ti sondjes -
tu l'as rêvé (you have dreamed of that) = tè l'a
sondjî
Les djous del samwinne
Londi
For more accurate information about Walloon, see
the page of the Walloon
language and
The Lucyin Mahin walloon language
pages.
The pronoun ended by an 'i' changes this 'i' in 'è' in front
a pronoun beginning with a 'l' :
je chante la chanson (I sing the song) = dji tchante li tchanson -
la chanson, je la chante (the song, I sing it) = li tchanson, djè
l'tchante.
celui qui dit (the one who says) = li cia qui dit -
celui qui le dit (the one who says that) = li cia què l'dit.
Mårdi
Merkidi
Djûdi
Vinrdi
Semdi
Dimegne
Visitez le site de la Grammaire wallonne en ligne de Lorint Hendschel
Li waibe del croejhete walone
But there is another latin word, 'gallina', very close to gallicus, which
means chicken, cockerel. That's why in 1912, the Walloon Assembly
chose a red rooster on yellow background
to symbolise Wallonia, land of the Gauls, the Wahlas and the roosters. :-)
After the split of Charlemagne's Empire, the Walloon land was incorporated in the Lotharingie (Lothringen - [English ?]), that is the western part of the future Holy Roman Germanic Empire. Wallonia has only been occupied from 1795 to 1815, by the French Republic, followed by the Napoleonic Empire. Why all this historic stuff ? Because some people here want to unite Wallonia with France if Belgium disappears (Flemings planning to be independent in 2002). Their arguments ? The language and the 1795-1815 period. If the language was such a great argument for annexation , Austria would be a German Land, Ireland would be a UK region, Swiss canton of Ticino would be an Italian province, Canada would be a US state...
Secondly, the 1795-1815 period is not an argument. Saying that once you have been occupied by a foreign country, you shall re-unite with it, is completely stupid. If it wasn't, half Europe would be under the rule of Italy (Roman Empire), or France (Carolus Magnus Empire), if not Germany (3rd Reich).
Really, the sole reason why these " rattachistes" (refasteners) want to make Wallonia a French département, is : they think Wallonia is too "poor" to be independent !
OK, we don't have oil fields, our coal mines are closed, but we have other resources : timber in the Ardennes, our communication lines (the densest in the world) such as motorways, rivers and channels, international rail lines (TGV), two airports (Charleroi and Liège)
; our
geographical place as Western Europe's center (the center of the European
Union is in Viroinval, Wallonia); our universities; our agriculture...
Plus, we don't need to be totally independent.
We want to continue our EU membership, and since a majority of Walloons are
federalists, why Wallonia couldn't be a member-state of a
European Federation ?
Today, there are no Walloon political parties which are ready for supporting Walloon independence. Some are rabidly Unionist (the Social-Christians, which are losing many votes), some are pro-annexation (if necessary) by France (PRL-FDF-MCC, the Liberals; first Walloon party). The position of the Socialists are not clear. One of its federal MPs has clearly said twice that he supports rattachisme. He has been backed recently by a comrad federal minister. But another one of the PS' most famous members, José Happart MEP, is president of the movement "Wallonie, Région d'Europe" (Wallonia, European Region). Happart is the second most popular political man in Wallonia. He would no doubt support Wallonia as a member of a Federal European Union. Happart is also a Fouronnais (he was born in Herstal, Wallonia, on 14-MAR-1947, but moved to Fourons in 1965, at the age of 18). He supports the return of Fourons to Wallonia.
The national feelings in Wallonia are very poor. People feels mostly Belgian. Hopefully, the federalization of Belgium increased a greater Walloon identity, even if not everybody speaks of a Walloon nation.
For more information about the Walloon Region, in French, and in 6 different languages.
It has been decided in 1998 by a special commission of the Walloon Parliament that the Walloon National Anthem will be "Le Chant des Wallons", composed by Louis Hiller, and adopted by the Walloon League in 1900. The original lyrics of Théophile Bovy, which were said to be outdated, have been chosen as the official lyrics of the anthem. But while the original lyrics were in Eastern Walloon (Liège), the official lyrics will be in French. Which is a pity.
Lucyin Mahin,
has written a more up-to-date
version of
this song.
Le Chant des Wallons (official French version)
I.
Nous sommes fiers de notre Wallonie,
Le monde entier admire ses enfants.
Au premier rang brille son industrie
Et dans les arts on l'apprécie autant.
Bien que petit, notre pays surpasse
Par ses savants de plus grandes nations.
Et nous voulons des libertés en masse :
Voilà pourquoi l'on est fier d'être Wallons !
II.
Entre Wallons, toujours on fraternise.
Dans le malheur, on aime s'entraider :
On fait le bien sans jamais qu'on le dise,
En s'efforçant de le tenir caché.
La charité visitant la chaumière
S'y prend le soir avec cent précautions :
On donne peu, mais c'est d'un coeur sincère :
Voilà pourquoi l'on est fier d'être Wallons !
III.
Petit pays, c'est pour ta grandeur d'âme
Que nous t'aimons, sans trop le proclamer.
Notre oeil se voile aussitôt qu'on te blâme
Et notre coeur est prêt à se briser.
Ne crains jamais les coups de l'adversaire.
De tes enfants les bras te défendront
Il ne faut pas braver notre colère:
Voilà pourquoi l'on est fier d'être Wallons !
Below, you will find a proposal from the Union Culturelle Wallonne as published by "La Nouvelle Gazette" of 22-MAY-1998.
Li Tchant des Walons (the original version (my favourite), but in Standard Walloon)
1. (Est-Wallon)
Nos estans firs di nosse pitite patreye
Ca lådje èt lon, on djåze di ses èfants
Å prumî rang, on l'mèt po l'industreye
Et dins les årts, èle riglatit ostant.
Nosse têre est ptite, mins nos avans l'ritchesse
Des omes sincieus qu'anôblixhèt leus noms.
Et nos avans des libertés timpesse:
Vola poqwè qu'on-z-est firs d'esse Walons!
2. (Ouest-Wallon)
Qwand c'est qu'on s'mèt a lîre nos lîves d'istwêre
I nos chonne qui nos plans nos ranêrer
Et nosse keur martoke tot sondjant al glwêre
Di nos parints qu'on n'areut seu sbarer.
Si nos vikans pajhîres c'est zèls li caze:
Il ont spotchî l'inn'mi dzos leus talons.
C'est des vayants qu'on dit qwand on-z-è caze
Vola poqwè qu'on-z-est firs d'esse Walons!
3. (Sud-Wallon)
On s'veut voltî inte frés dèl Waloneye
Et on-z-est prèt'onk l'ôte a s'diner l'mwin.
On fwêt plêjhi bén sovint sins qu'on l'deye
Et sins l'criyî pa t't ava tos les tchmins.
Li tcharité qui mousse èl majhonète
N'î va qu'al nut'avou mile précôcions.
Li pô qu'on done, on nèl done qu'è catchète:
Vola poqwè qu'on-z-est firs d'esse Walons!
4. (Centre-Wallon)
Pitit payis, vos qu'a tant d'grandeu d'ame,
Nos v's inmans bén sins qu'nos l'criyanxhe trop hôt!
Qwand on v'discaze, as ouys montèt nos lames,
Et nos sintans nosse keur bate a gros côps.
N'ayîz nén peu, fuxhîz tofêr al fiesse:
Di vos èfants, les brès èt l'keur sont bons.
Et nos avans les tchveas fwärt près dèl tiesse:
Vola poqwè qu'on-z-est firs d'esse Walons!
"La Nouvelle Gazette" of 22-MAY-1998 also published a French version (wrongly credited to the Union Culturelle Wallonne).
Le Chant des Wallons (the lyrics have been updated)
Nous sommes fiers de notre Wallonie
Et notre orgueil c'est d'être ses enfants
Car elle cache sous sa bonhomie
Un patrimoine que chacun défend.
Mais si les arts, l'industrie et la science
Ont de tous temps fait rayonner son nom,
C'est que nos bras sont pétris de vaillance
Et c'est pourquoi notre coeur est wallon.
C'est que nos bras sont pétris de vaillance
Et c'est pourquoi
Oui c'est pourquoi notre coeur est wallon.
De nos aïeux le plus noble héritage,
Est cet amour constant des libertés
Que notre histoire ensigne à chaque page
En nous montrant qu'il faut savoir lutter.
On se souvient du dicton populaire :
"Un homme pauvre est roi dans sa maison".
Toute injustice nous met en colère
Et c'est pourquoi notre coeur est wallon.
Toute injustice nous met en colère
Et c'est pourquoi
Oui c'est pourquoi notre coeur est wallon
Petit pays ton âme est généreuse
Et veut s'ouvrir aux hommes de partout;
De la Semois, de la Sambre à la Meuse,
On est chez soi lorsque l'on vient chez nous.
Mais s'il fallait défendre notre terre,
Il n'y aurait ni lâche, ni félon;
Chacun ferait ce qu'aurait fait son père
Et c'est pourquoi notre coeur est wallon.
Chacun ferait ce qu'aurait fait son père
Et c'est pourquoi
Oui c'est pourquoi notre coeur est wallon
Paru dans le Sélection du Reader's Digest d'avril 1993
Dès le XVI° et XVII° siècles, de nombreux protestants wallons émigrèrent en Amérique, victimes d'intolérance et de persécutions religieuses. Certains seront même recensés parmi les émigrants du Mayflower en 1620.
Saviez-vous qu'un natif du comté du Hainaut, Jessé de Forest, rêvait de créer une colonie wallonne autonome et homogène en Amérique ? Il réussit à intéresser à son projet Willem Usselinx, un Anversois membre fondateur de la Compagnie des Indes occidentales. Chargé par sa compagnie de créer et d'organiser des comptoirs commerciaux permanents sur les rives de l'Hudson, Usselinx accepta d'associer les Wallons à ses expéditions.
À partir de 1624, des familles wallonnes s'installèrent donc à la pointe méridionale de Manhattan et choisirent comme gouverneur Pierre Minuit, un fils de fermiers d'Ohain.
Pour la somme de 60 florins, Minuit acheta aux Indiens l'île de Manhattan et la baptisa "Nouvelle Belgique". Administrateur habile, il sut garder des rapports amicaux avec les Indiens, regroupa les Wallons éparpillés entre Manhattan et Fort Orange, maintint l'usage de la langue française et appela les Wallons de Belgique à faire souche en Nouvelle Belgique. Jugé trop francophone, il fut rappelé en Hollande et remplacé par des directeurs généraux. C'est Peter Stuyvesant, nommé gouverneur de la Nouvelle Belgique en 1647, qui baptisa le bourg de Manhattan "Nouvelle Amsterdam en Nouvelle Belgique".
En 1664, la Hollande ayant cédé le territoire de la Nouvelle Belgique à l'Angleterre, le duc d'York s'empara de la ville et New Amsterdam devint New York. Mais l'héritage perdura : élu en 1688, le Wallon Pierre De Lannoy, dont le patronyme s'altéra en "Delano", fut le premier maire élu de New York. Son arrière-arrière-descendant, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, gouverneur de l'État de New York deviendra le 32ème président des États-Unis (de 1933 à 1945). Au milieu du XIXème siècle, un deuxième mouvement migratoire poussa des milliers d'agriculteurs, mineurs et verriers wallons à émigrer aux États-Unis.
Floreffe naquit ainsi en Pennsylvanie le jour où des glaciers de Fosses et de Floreffe furent appelés pour créer une glacerie entre Pittsburgh et la future Charleroi. Quand, en 1890, une nouvelle ville fut créée pour valoriser l'industrie verrière et minière, au centre de la vallée de la Monogahelan les élus voulurent donner un nom prestigieux à leur ville. Ils optèrent pour celui de la capitale mondiale du verre, Charleroi. Ils honoraient ainsi les verriers du pays de Charleroi qui, les premiers et les plus nombreux, avaient contribué au succès de la région...
C. Guéniot
(personnal English translation)
Released in Reader's Digest Selection of April 1993
From the 16th and 17th centuries, a lot of Walloon protestants emigrated in
America, as they were victims of intolerance and religious persecutions.
Some of them have even been registered among Mayflower's emigrants in 1620.
Did you know that a native from the County of Hainaut, Jessé de Forest,
dreamed about creating an autonomous and homogenous Walloon colony in
America ?
From 1624, Walloon families settled in the southern point of Manhattan and
chose Pierre Minuit, a farmer's son from Ohain in Wallonia, as governor.
For the sum of 60 gulden , Minuit bought the island of Manhattan from the
Indians and named her "Nouvelle Belgique" (New Belgium). Skilful
administrator, Minuit kept good relations with the Indians, gathered
together the Walloons dispersed between Manhattan and Fort Orange,
maintained the use of the French language and asked Walloons of Belgium to
settle in Nouvelle Belgique. Judged too francophone, he was called back in
the Netherlands and replaced by general directors. It's Pieter Stuyvesant,
appointed governor of New Belgium in 1647, who named the town of Manhattan
"Nieuw Amsterdam in Nieuw België" (New Amsterdam in New Belgium).
In 1664, the Netherlands having given the territory of New Belgium to
England, the duke of York took the town and Nieuw Amsterdam became New York.
But the heritage stayed : elected in 1688, the Walloon Pierre De Lannoy,
whose name altered in "Delano", was the first elected mayor of New York.
His great-great-descendant, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, governor of New York
became the 32st President of the United States (1933-1945). In the middle of
the 19th century, a second migrant movement pushed thousands of Walloon
farmers, miners and glassmakers to emigrate in the USA.
Floreffe was founded in Pennsylvania the day when glassmakers from Fosses
and Floreffe, in Wallonia were called to build an ice factory between
Pittsburgh and the future Charleroi. When, in 1890, a new town was built to
valorise the mine and glass industry, in the centre of Monogahelan valley,
the representatives wanted to give a prestigious name to their town. They
chose the name of the world capital of glass, Charleroi. They were so
honouring the glassmakers of the Pays de Charleroi who, the first and the
numerous, had contributed to the success of the region...
C. Guéniot
Illustrations :
He managed to interest in his project Willem Usselinx, an Antwerper
founder-member of the Western Indies Company.
Mandated by his company to create and organize permanent trading posts on
Hudson shores, Usselinx accepted to associate Walloons in his expedition.
- le premier sceau de l'État de New Yorrk ""SIGILLUM NOVI BELGII"
- le premier sceau de la ville de New YYorkk "SIGILLUM AMSTELLO DAMENSIS IN
NOVO BELGIO"
It's all for now, thank you for having visited my page. Have a good time
and...
Long Live Europe of the regions.
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Waiburlin : Stéphane Dohet - 2005