In the north of Belgium, the Vlaams Belang, an anti-immigration movement which campaigns for the independence of Flanders, is leading the polls. And even if it is almost non-existent among French speakers, it could well become the leading Belgian party and increase from two to three deputies in the European Parliament, where it sits alongside the National Rally.
It is a tradition for Vlaams Belang. Every May 1, this Flemish far-right party rents an amusement park and invites its members to come and celebrate Labor Day there. Here, many are long-time supporters, having in common their obsession withimmigration. “ Currently I’m looking for a job and it’s very difficultlaments Yorn, a young 21-year-old voter who came with a group of friends. Sometimes I see that migrants or foreigners have the positions I want. This frustrates me. So the first thing I want is for the migrants to leave so I can find a job quickly », Explains the young man simplistically.
Dany, retired, is a candidate for Vlaams Belang on the lists of his municipality for the local election, scheduled for next October. He echoes his party’s populist arguments on the migration policy of theEuropean Union. “ When we’re full, we’re full! he states peremptorily. We must vote in the European elections. Here, they say that the leaders in Brussels are in an ivory tower. » Anti-foreigner positions are therefore fully assumed.
Founded in 1979, the ancestor of Vlaams Belang, Vlaams Blok had been dissolved in 2004 following a conviction for xenophobia. The party has since changed its name and rejects any accusation of racism. But its program remains the same: national preference, references to the racist and conspiracy theory of the great replacement and always, its historic demand, the independence of Flanders, which is one of the richest regions in Europe.
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Waiting in line for an attraction, a voter believes that the Flemish pay too much for the Walloon region and the French speakers. “ There’s a lot of money going to the other side of the Belgiumhe thinks he knows. Because of this, we say stop. That’s enough, everyone at home. »
A little further on, in the performance hall, the day’s guest of honor climbs onto the podium. Tom Van Grieken, 37, is the president of Vlaams Belang and the face of its demonization. When he was younger, he was known for his excesses, such as when he brought pork sausages to a halal barbecue organized by a school in 2012. But since he took charge of the party in 2014, this trained publicist has smoothed its image and pushed Vlaams Belang to invest in social networks to attract young people.
Today, he hopes to make his movement the first Flemish party and place a third deputy in the European Parliament, where he sits with the Identity and Democracy (ID) group, in which he is fully integrated, alongside the National Rally and the German AfD.
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