The day after France’s municipal elections saw a surge by the radical left and strong results for the far right, the centrist political party Les Engagés approved measures to suspend ties with municipalities led by far-left or far-right parties.
A motion on this initiative will be submitted to the Walloon and Brussels parliaments. Meanwhile, Les Engagés representatives at local councils will advocate for the same measure to prevent collaboration with extremist individuals or parties.
Any Walloon or Brussels municipality paired with a French municipality governed by far-left or far-right leadership will have its partnership suspended. This policy is already in place in certain areas, such as Arlon, which ended its partnership with Hayange in 2014 after the far-right Rassemblement National came to power there, according to the group.
“Our responsibility in the face of rising extremism is clear: defend democracy and reject any form of collaboration with those who undermine it,” stated Les Engagés leader Yvan Verougstraete.
Brussels municipalities each have they're separate twin towns, with several communes like Uccle or Anderlecht pairing with French municipalities.
