HECK, EVEN FRANCE IS DEFRENCHIFYING:

Is Belgium Falling Apart?: They are fighting over electoral districts, taxes and language rights -- but above all it is a struggle for influence. For 151 days Belgium has been without a government, while the Flemish and Walloons fight over their own power and interests. (Barbara Hans, 11/08/07, Der Spiegel)

The reason for the crisis was a vote in parliament where for the first time in decades the Flemish parties used their majority clout to push through the carve-up of the electoral district of Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde (BHV) along linguistic lines. The division of the district may not seem to have much political importance at first glance, but it reveals the extent of the continuing Belgian crisis.

The Flemish want to separate the French-speaking enclave of Brussels from the Flemish-speaking hinterland in order to maintain their influence there. The communities surrounding Brussels belong legally to Flanders, but they have long been included in the bilingual Brussels region. This meant that people living in the district voted in Greater Brussels, in which 80 percent of people speak French, due to a special rule that applied to the capital. Traditionally people living in the Flemish territory have voted for Flemish parties and those in Wallonia vote for Francophone politicians.

The French-speaking residents fear that any carve-up will affect their political rights: Any split would deprive Walloons living in Greater Brussels of the right to vote for French-speaking representatives.

Many Flemings regard this privilege, what they call the "Frenchification" of Brussels as a thorn in their side. Flemish-speakers who live in Wallonia have sought the same rights, they argue, but without success.