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Fictional documentary about Flemish independence causes consternation in Belgium

Tout ça (ne nous rendra pas la Belgique) was a hoax perpetrated by the French speaking Belgian public TV station RTBF on Wednesday, December 13th 2006. Image File history File links WikiNews-Logo. ... Wikinews is a free-content news source and a project of the Wikimedia Foundation. ... A hoax is an attempt to trick an audience into believing that something false is real. ... The French Community area of Belgium The French Community of Belgium (French: , Dutch: , German: ) is one of the three official communities in Belgium along with the Flemish Community and the German speaking Community. ... RTBF official logo RTBF or Radio télévision belge de la communauté française is the national broadcasting organisation of the government of the French-speaking southern part of Belgium, the counterpart to the Dutch-speaking VRT in the northern part of the country. ...

Regular programming on the channel La Une was interrupted for a news bulletin which claimed the Flemish parliament had unilaterally declared independence from Belgium, thereby ending the existence of the country. Interviews with prominent Belgian politicians (some of which had been informed about the hoax) as well as staged footage of the evacuation of the royal family gave credence to the event. The Flemish Parliament (Dutch: Vlaams Parlement, and formerly called Flemish Council or Vlaamse Raad) constitutes the legislative power in Flanders, for matters which fall within the competence of Flanders, both as a geographic region and a cultural and linguistic community of Belgium. ... Emergency evacuation is the movement of persons from a dangerous place due to the threat or occurrence of a disastrous event. ... Members of the British Royal Family This article is about the monarchy-related concept. ...

The broadcast of the report led to some consternation in French-speaking Belgium. A hotline set up by the station was swamped by calls. Thirty minutes into the broadcast, on demand of the media minister of the French speaking community in Belgium, Fadila Laanan, an on-screen message identified it as a fiction.

The hoax was prepared over a period of 2 years under the codename BBB for Bye-bye Belgium. A code name or cryptonym is a word or name used clandestinely to refer to another name or word. ...

Prominent Belgian politicians, including Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt, Flemish Minister President Yves Leterme and Walloon Minister-President Elio Di Rupo, have condemned the report as "irresponsible". Guy Verhofstadt (help· info) (born April 11, 1953) is a Belgian politician and currently, the Prime Minister of Belgium. ... Yves Leterme (October 6, 1960 in Wervik, Belgium) is the current Minister-President of Flanders, Belgium. ... Elio Di Rupo (born July 18, 1951) is the leader of the French-speaking Belgian Socialist Party, i. ...

External links

• BBC news report
• [1] International Herald Tribune article documenting the hoax.
• [2] RTBF's website (in French).