Posted Nov 22, 2017, 2:25 AM
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Join Date: May 2013
Location: Timmins, Northern Ontario
Posts: 7,710
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MolsonExport
Brussels is historically a part of Flanders, even though it is (now) majority french-speaking.
largest Metro areas of Belgium
Brussels 2,608,000 (historically Flanders, but majority French, and now its own region)
Antwerp 1,091,000 (Flanders)
Liège 744,000 (Wallonia)
Ghent 591,000 (Flanders)
Charleroi 488,000 (Wallonia)
wikipedia
French was considered the lingua franca among elites in Belgium for much of the past century (Even among many Dutch-Speaking Flemish, including some of my ancestors). Tables have turned somewhat, with an inevitable counter reaction from the hithertoo underclass Flemish (not unlike Quebec's situation, but there with French vis-a-vis English), who are now on top, economically-speaking. Without a strong central state, Belgium has descended into extreme bickering along language lines. |
Didn't realize that Brussels is majority French-speaking. So I guess that's means that Montreal is the third largest French-speaking city after Paris and Brussels?
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