Belgian farmer accidentally moves border with France, makes Belgium a little bigger

A Belgian farmer has caused a stir after he accidentally redrew the country’s border with France by moving a stone that marks the border between the two nations with his tractor. According to BBC, the stone was moved in the Belgian village of Erquelinnes. The new border had been moved 7.5 feet and was noticed by an eagle-eyed local history buff who was walking along the border in the forest. 

David Lavaux, mayor of Erquelinnes, posted a photo on Facebook of a French TV channel shooting video of the border stone. In the caption, Lavaux wrote, “We moved the 1819 border”. He said that he was happy as his town was bigger, but the mayor added his Bousignies-sur-Roc counterpart didn’t agree. 

As per reports, the border between France and what is now Belgium stretches 620 kilometres. The border was formally established under the Treaty of Kortrijk, which was signed in 1820 after Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo five years earlier. The stone dates back to 1819 when the border was first marked out. 

While speaking to a French media outlet, Lavaux said that the move could have caused a headache between private landowners, let alone neighbouring states. However, instead of causing an international uproar, the incident has been met with smiles on both sides of the border. Bousignies-sur-Roc Mayor Aurélie Welonek jokingly also told La Voix du Nord, “We should be able to avoid a new border war”. 

According to BBC, now the farmer will be asked to return the stone to its original location. But if that does not happen, the case could end up at the Belgian foreign ministry, which would summon a Franco-Belgian border commission, which has been dormant since 1930. Lavaux also noted that the farmer too could face criminal charges if he fails to comply. 

Netizens call the incident ‘funny’ 

Meanwhile, since shared several internet users flooded the comment section and joked about the incident. While one user said, “Finally, we're going to have tourists businesses on the rise,” another added, “In the month of May do what you please. Well, it looks like an attempt to annex”. “That was funny,” wrote third. “Small territory will become big,” said fourth with a wink emoticon. 

(Image: Unsplash/Facebook)