Two thirds of Walloons (66,1%) feel quite different or very different to the Flemish, according to a study by the Walloon Institute of Evaluation of Prospective and Statistics (IWEPS), revealed by the RTBF on Wednesday. 10 years ago, only 35% of people said the same. The new IWEPS social barometer for Wallonia for 2012-2013 touched on the feeling of Walloon identity. According to the survey, nearly 1,200 people (error margin of 2,76%), 78% of people asked, are quite proud or very proud of being Walloon. This feeling is not incompatible with being proud of being Belgian, as 79% of Walloons said they were.
But Walloons feel less and less close to the Flemish. Only 35% felt different to their Northern neighbours in 2003. 10 years later, 66,1% feel different or quite different to the Flemish.
However, the study shows that Walloons feel close to their Southern neighbours, with “only” 54,9% of people asked saying they feel quite different or very different to the French.
There is, according to the IWEPS, “a predominance of the language and cultural dimension over the fact that they are both part of the Belgian nation”
(Source: Belga)
