Flag of Wallonia
 | |
| Flag of Wallonia | |
| Proportion | 2:3[1] |
|---|---|
| Adopted | 1975 |
| Design | Red rooster on a yellow background |
 Coat of arms of Wallonia | |
The flag of Wallonia is used by the Walloon Region and French Community of Belgium. Designed between 1912 and 1913, it depicts a red "bold rooster" (coq hardi) on a yellow field. Originally associated with the Walloon Movement, the flag has subsequently become an apolitical symbol of regional identity. It has enjoyed official status since 1975.
Origins
[edit]Over the late 19th century, the Flemish Movement sought to challenge the status of the French language in the predominantly Dutch-speaking regions of Belgium. This led to the emergence of an alternative Walloon Movement in the largely French-speaking areas which became known as Wallonia although the wallingants' political influence remained minimal.[2] The movement sought to inspire a sense of patriotism and shared identity among French-speaking Belgians and celebrated regionalism but was not opposed to the idea of a Belgian nation-state. The movement's emergence was accentuated by the political dominance of the Catholic Party after the 1880s which was particularly popular among Flemish voters and was opposed by Francophone Liberals and Socialists.[2]
After the Catholic Party further increased its majority in the 1912 general election, the Walloon Movement underwent a period of expansion. A gathering of sympathisers was convened in a "Walloon Assembly" (Assemblée wallonne) in July 1912 which resolved to study the possibility of adopting a flag, emblem, observance, and anthem to celebrate Walloon identity.[2] A commission presided over by Richard Dupierreux was established to study possible designs. This proved highly controversial. Various heraldic or regional symbols such as the perron were considered but rejected in favour of a rooster. The report was presented at the next meeting of the asssembly held at Mons on 16 March 1913.[2]
The design proposed by Dupierreux depicted a "bold rooster" (coq hardi) with its head tilted upwards and leg raised. Roosters had not appeared as a heraldic symbol in any part of modern-day Wallonia. The small village of Limelette in the Province of Brabant was the only place to use the emblem.[2] By contrast, the Gallic rooster (coq gaulois) had long been used as a national symbol in France. Although attested for centuries, it had gained renewed popularity under the French Third Republic (1871-1940).[2] Many wallingants at the time were Liberals who sought inspiration in the political ideals of the French Revolution and were therefore instinctively Francophile.[2] The "bold rooster" used for the flag adopted a different pose from the Gallic rooster, which was usually depicted crowing with head raised upwards and both feet downwards.[2]
A watercolour painting of the "bold rooster" was produced by the Belgian artist Pierre Paulus which is currently in the collections of the Museum of Walloon Life.[3] At the time, various other designs were also commonly used for several decades. Although there was considerable disagreement over the choice of the emblem and the colours, the flag was formally adopted by Walloon activists at a meeting at the Communal Museum in Ixelles, Brussels on 20 April 1913.[2][3]
Adoption
[edit]
Although initially popular among wallingants, the flag fell into disuse during the Interwar period and World War II.[2][3] The "bold rooster" superimposed on the flag of France was used by groups such as Wallonie Libre supportive of Rattachism. As this was a minority position even within the Walloon Movement, it led to suspicion of the design as too "French" among more mainstream political sympathisers, especially within the Christian Social Party.[2] The flag nonetheless gradually became seen as a regional symbol as federalism became a major issue in Belgian politics in the 1960s and 1970s.
On 20 July 1975, the flag was adopted formally as the emblem of the recently created French Cultural Community (Communauté culturelle française) established by the 1970 state reform. This was the first time that it had achieved official status.[2] It continues to be used by its successor entity, the French Community of Belgium (Communauté française de Belgique) since 1991.[2]
On 15 July 1998, the Walloon Parliament adopted the same design as the flag as the emblem of the Walloon Region.[2]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Décret déterminant le jour de fête et les emblèmes propres à la Région wallonne" (PDF). Parlement de Wallonie. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Collignon, Alain. "Drapeau wallon". www.wallonie-en-ligne.net (in French). Institut Destrée. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
- ^ a b c "L'incroyable histoire derrière le drapeau Wallon - RTBF Actus". RTBF (in French). 27 November 2020. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
Further reading
[edit]- Boudin, Hugh R. (2007). "Le coq wallon. Aspects vexillologiques d'un emblème identitaire". In Courtois, Luc; et al. (eds.). Images et paysages mentaux des 19e et 20e siècles, de la Wallonie à l'outre-mer : hommage au professeur Jean Pirotte à l'occasion de son éméritat. Louvain-la-Neuve: Academia Bruylant. pp. 3–22. ISBN 978-2-87209-857-6.
- Moreau, R. (1987). "La genèse du drapeau wallon". Enquêtes du musée de la Vie wallonne (16): 129–174.
External links
[edit]
- Le Drapeau Officiel at the French Community of Belgium (Wallonia-Brussels Federations).