Reformist MovementThe Reformist Movement (Mouvement Réformateur, MR) is a liberal French-speaking political party in Belgium. MR is traditionally a conservative-liberal party, but it also contains social-liberal factions. The party was in coalition as part of the Michel Government and then the Wilmès Government from October 2014, having provided two prime ministers since. After the 2007 general election the MR was the largest Francophone political formation in Belgium, a position that was regained by the Socialist Party in the 2010 general election.
Walloon languageWalloon (wɒˈluːn; natively walon; wallon) is a Romance language that is spoken in much of Wallonia and (to a very small extent) in Brussels, Belgium; some villages near Givet, northern France; and a clutch of communities in northeastern Wisconsin, U.S. It belongs to the langues d'oïl language family, the most prominent member of which is French. The historical background of its formation was the territorial extension since 980 of the Principality of Liège to the south and west.
Dutch languageDutch (Nederlands ˈneːdərlɑnts), also known as Netherlandic or Netherlandish, is a West Germanic language spoken by about 25 million people as a first language and 5 million as a second language. It is the third most widely spoken Germanic language, after its close relatives German and English. Afrikaans is a separate but somewhat mutually intelligible daughter language spoken, to some degree, by at least 16 million people, mainly in South Africa and Namibia, evolving from the Cape Dutch dialects of Southern Africa.
BelgiansBelgians (Belgen; Belges; Belgier) are people identified with the Kingdom of Belgium, a federal state in Western Europe. As Belgium is a multinational state, this connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural rather than ethnic. The majority of Belgians, however, belong to two distinct linguistic groups or communities (gemeenschap; communauté) native to the country, i.e. its historical regions: Flemings in Flanders, who speak Dutch; and Walloons in Wallonia, who speak French or Walloon.
Geographical distribution of French speakersThe French language became an international language in the Middle Ages, when the power of the Kingdom of France made it the second international language, alongside Latin. This status continued to grow into the 18th century, by which time French was the language of European diplomacy and international relations. According to the 2022 report of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), 409 million people speak French.
Picard languagePicard (ˈpɪkɑːrd, also USpɪˈkɑːrd,_ˈpɪkərd, pikaʁ) is a langue d'oïl of the Romance language family spoken in the northernmost of France and parts of Hainaut province in Belgium. Administratively, this area is divided between the French Hauts-de-France region and the Belgian Wallonia along the border between both countries due to its traditional core being the districts of Tournai and Mons (Walloon Picardy).
WalloniaWallonia (wɒˈloʊniə; Wallonie walɔni), officially the Walloon Region (Région wallonne), is one of the three regions of Belgium—along with Flanders and Brussels. Covering the southern portion of the country, Wallonia is primarily French-speaking. It accounts for 55% of Belgium's territory, but only a third of its population. The Walloon Region and the French Community of Belgium, which is the political entity responsible for matters related mainly to culture and education, are independent concepts, because the French Community of Belgium encompasses both Wallonia and the bilingual Brussels-Capital Region.
City of BrusselsThe City of Brussels (Ville de Bruxelles vil də bʁysɛl or alternatively Bruxelles-Ville bʁysɛl vil; Stad Brussel stɑd ˈbrʏsəl or Brussel-Stad ˈbrʏsəl stɑt) is the largest municipality and historical centre of the Brussels-Capital Region, as well as the capital of the Flemish Region (from which it is separate) and Belgium. The City of Brussels is also the administrative centre of the European Union, as it hosts a number of principal EU institutions in its European Quarter.
