{"id":530,"date":"2020-05-02T00:18:18","date_gmt":"2020-05-01T22:18:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eurominority.eu\/?page_id=530"},"modified":"2020-05-16T23:17:05","modified_gmt":"2020-05-16T21:17:05","slug":"wallonia","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.eurominority.eu\/index.php\/en\/wallonia\/","title":{"rendered":"Wallonia"},"content":{"rendered":"

Wallonia, the survival of an O\u00efl people<\/h2>
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>

Wallonia is situated on the margins of the Roman and Germanic worlds. Linguistically, the Walloons, as well as the Picards and the Normans, make up part of the O\u00efl people. Politically, however, they are marked by a history of conflicts between micro-territories and unions in larger groups.<\/p>

\"\"
The Walloon flag is \u201ca bold red rooster on gold\u201d. It was designed by Paulus in 1913. The colours are those of the principality of Li\u00e8ge, which was an independent state from the 10th to the end of the 18th century and whose eponymous diocese coincided with the linguistic area of Wallonia. <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>

Populated\ninitially by the Celtic tribe of the Belgii<\/em>, Wallonia was conquered by\nCaesar and was strongly Romanised. After the collapse of the Roman Empire,\nWallonia saw the emergence of the kingdom of the Franks, as well as the\nCarolingian dynasty, of Li\u00e9geoise origin, mixing its history with that of\nnorthern France. Following the Treaty of Verdun, it returned to Lorraine and\nthen integrated into the Germanic Holy Roman Empire. After a feudal period\ndividing it into independent micro-territories that were regularly in conflict,\nvast counties and duchies were created (Namur, Brabant, Luxembourg, Hainaut),\ncontrolled by the Burgundian power, Spain, and then Austria.<\/p>

The\nprincipality of Li\u00e8ge became involved in the French Revolution and France\nprofited from annexing the region and dividing it into departments, based on\nprovinces. Integrated with the Netherlands in 1815, Wallonia rebelled in 1830,\nleading to the creation of Belgium, born of an arranged marriage requiring the\nco-existence of two very different people: the Walloons and the Flemish.<\/p>

The Industrial\nRevolution made Wallonia rich in natural resources, until its decline in the\n1960s. Belgium turned towards federalism. The Walloons wanted economic autonomy\nso that they would no longer depend on the Flemish majority. The movement\naccelerated until the abolition of federalism in the 1990s.<\/p>

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>

Identity card <\/h3>
\"\"<\/figure>
Name <\/em> <\/td>Waloneye <\/strong>| Walloon<\/em>
Wallonie <\/strong><\/em>| French<\/em>
Wallonien <\/em><\/strong>| German<\/em>
Walloni\u00eb <\/em><\/strong>| Flemish\/Dutch<\/em> <\/td><\/tr>
Population <\/em><\/td> 3,633,795 inhab<\/strong>. (2019)<\/td><\/tr>
Area<\/em> <\/td> 16,845 km<\/strong>\u00b2 <\/td><\/tr>
Languages <\/em> <\/td>Walon <\/strong>| Walloon<\/em> (recognised)
Fran\u00e7ais<\/em><\/strong> | French<\/em>
Deutsch <\/em><\/strong>| German <\/em>(official)
Vlaams\/Nederlands<\/em><\/strong> | Flemish\/Dutch<\/em><\/td><\/tr>
Number of native speakers<\/em> <\/td> 600,000<\/strong> | Walloon<\/em> (including 300,000 active speakers) (2017)<\/td><\/tr>
State of guardianship<\/em> <\/td> Belgium, France<\/strong> <\/td><\/tr>
Official status<\/em> <\/td> Federal region in Belgium, No status in France<\/strong> <\/td><\/tr>
Capital<\/em><\/td>Name\u00fbr <\/strong>| Walloon<\/em>
(Namur) <\/td><\/tr>
Historic religion<\/em> <\/td> Roman Catholic<\/strong> <\/td><\/tr>
Flag<\/em> <\/td>Li cok walon<\/strong> | Walloon<\/em>
(The Walloon Rooster) <\/td><\/tr>
Anthem<\/em> <\/td>Li tchant des Walons<\/strong> | Walloon<\/em>
(The Song of the Walloons) <\/td><\/tr>
Motto<\/em> <\/td>Walon todi <\/strong>| Walloon<\/em>
(Always Walloon) <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>

Timeline<\/h3>
\"\"<\/figure>