The French Community of Belgium (French: Communauté française de Belgique, Dutch: Franse Gemeenschap van België) is one of the three official communities in Belgium along with the Flemish Community and the German speaking Community. Although its name could suggest that it is a community of French citizens in Belgium, it is not. The French Community of Belgium is an institution, not a group of people or inhabitants. The French Community of Belgium has its own parliament, government and administration.

The French Community of Belgium is sometimes called the French-speaking Community of Belgium, which probably reflects more correctly its nature.

Alternative namings

The names Communauté Wallonie-Bruxelles and Communauté française Wallonie-Bruxelles are sometimes used to refer to institutions of the French Community of Belgium or more broadly to institutions which are common to the French Community of Belgium, the Walloon Region and the Commission communautaire française (COCOF, an French-speaking institution of the Brussels-capital Region) [1]. These two names are not mentioned in the Belgian Constitution , and only in a few official legal texts, such as the "Arrêté du Gouvernement de la Communauté française fixant le code de qualité et de l'accueil" of December 17, 2003, mentioning the name "Communauté Wallonie-Bruxelles", and the "Arrêté du Gouvernement de la Communauté française approuvant le programme quinquennal de promotion de la santé 2004-2008 of April 30, 2004, mentioning the name "Communauté française Wallonie-Bruxelles".

These names are contested by some Flemings as it may create confusion about the differences between regional and community institutions. A typical example of this confusion is the interpretation by some that these names refer to the common institutions of the Walloon Region, the Brussels-Capital Region and the COCOF, whereas those names do in fact only refer to the institution of the "French Community of Belgium".

Comparison with "Flanders"

Another known confusion sometimes arises from the term "Flanders". That name refers to two different political institutions and concepts, being the Flemish Region and the Flemish Community. It is not included in the Belgian constitution either, but more widely used in official publications. On the other hand, that name does not create any "exclusion" towards the other linguistic group in the Brussels-Capital Region, being the French-speakers (exclusion or denial considered by some Flemings as being implicated by the name of Communauté Wallonie-Bruxelles).

See also

• Commission communautaire française (COCOF)

External links

• French Community of Belgium, official web site
  • Portal in English
• Parliament of the French Community of Belgium, official web site, in French with some information available in English.
• Communauté Wallonie-Bruxelles
• Wallonie-Bruxelles Image (WBI)
• Wallonie-Bruxelles Musiques (WBM)
• Wallonie-Bruxelles Théâtre (WBT) (in French)
• Bureau International de la Jeunesse (also [2])
• Médiathèque de la Communauté française de Belgique