History, Wonder Tales, Fairy Tales, Myths and Legends The Flemish | Page 292

way they see other French citizens but as a threat to the integrity of France. There is a Flemish-French resistance. Régis De Mol, president of the aforementioned Flemish Regional Alliance of France, refuses to extol the liberal wonders of African genes in Flemish-French society. He is sanguine about the prospect, comparing the situation to Ireland. The majority in Ireland only speaks English but an Irishman stays forever an Irishman. The same in France: their Flemish language may be stolen but the Flemish of France will continue to call themselves Flemish. Earlier De Mol asked Paris for a regional legislative parliament, to reside in the historical building of the first Flemish parliament in Douai. The original parliament dates from 1714, but it fell victim to the French Revolution. De Mol must know he will never get a straight answer. The latest development at the Lille Academy tells him everything he needs to know about the goodwill of Monsieur le Président de la République. Posted by Johan Van Vlaams on Friday, September 8, 2006 at 10:33 AM in European Nationalism THE FLEMISH LANGUAGE IN FRANCE 1. 1. 2. 3. 4. The language in the country General information on the language community Geographical and language background General history and history of thelanguage Legal status and official policies 2. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. The use of the language in various fields Education Judicial Authorities Public Authorities and services Mass media and Information technology The Arts The business world Family and social use of the language Transnational exchanges 3. Conclusion 1. The language in the country 1.1. General information on the language community Flemish is spoken in the north-west of France by an estimated population of 20,000 daily speakers and 40,000 occasional speakers. It is spoken alongside French, which is gradually replacing it for all purposes and in all areas of communication. It is a variety of Western Flemish that belongs to the Dutch sub-group of the German 292