“A farmer in 2021 raised the potential for an international incident when he inadvertently redrew the border between Belgium and France. He was reportedly annoyed at a piece of rock that blocked the path of his tractor, and so he moved it. But this rock turned out to be a border stone which had been in place since 1819. By throwing it out of the path of his tractor, he redrew the Franco-Belgian border by 2.29 metres (7.5ft), making Belgium larger and France smaller.
The incident was, fortunately, met with good humour – but if the farmer refuses to return the stone to its original position he could face criminal charges, and the case would need to be escalated to the Belgian Foreign Ministry. The ministry, in turn, would need to convene a Franco-Belgian border commission. There hasn’t been a meeting of such a body since 1930.
The Franco-Belgian border was established under the Treaty of Kortrijk – signed in 1820 after Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo five years earlier. This was one of a series of border treaties signed by France in the 19th century. But these treaties were never the end of the matter. The border’s exact position needed to accommodate the landscape, and so in the case of the Franco-Belgian border the negotiations between local administrators on both sides lasted until 1825.”
VatoCornichone on
“Accidentally”
Angry_Wizzard on
I know people hate on the British for stealing everything but if you lived next to these two you’d administer India as well just to get some peace and quiet.
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“A farmer in 2021 raised the potential for an international incident when he inadvertently redrew the border between Belgium and France. He was reportedly annoyed at a piece of rock that blocked the path of his tractor, and so he moved it. But this rock turned out to be a border stone which had been in place since 1819. By throwing it out of the path of his tractor, he redrew the Franco-Belgian border by 2.29 metres (7.5ft), making Belgium larger and France smaller.
The incident was, fortunately, met with good humour – but if the farmer refuses to return the stone to its original position he could face criminal charges, and the case would need to be escalated to the Belgian Foreign Ministry. The ministry, in turn, would need to convene a Franco-Belgian border commission. There hasn’t been a meeting of such a body since 1930.
The Franco-Belgian border was established under the Treaty of Kortrijk – signed in 1820 after Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo five years earlier. This was one of a series of border treaties signed by France in the 19th century. But these treaties were never the end of the matter. The border’s exact position needed to accommodate the landscape, and so in the case of the Franco-Belgian border the negotiations between local administrators on both sides lasted until 1825.”
“Accidentally”
I know people hate on the British for stealing everything but if you lived next to these two you’d administer India as well just to get some peace and quiet.
*cries in Napoleon*
Is this about to become a tourist destination?
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ddlv47t1tQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ddlv47t1tQ)
The Tim traveller did a great video about this, but
1. There is no farmer, the owner of the field is a retired vetinarian
2. The stone wasn’t in his way
3. Even if it was, he didn’t move it
4. Moving it wouldn’t change the border
But a historical borderstone along a hiking path was moved, so that part is right.
The troll in me wants to take that boarder marker to Moscow (napoleon the first, captured the ruins of Moscow)
Really just be 2 meters
If there’s one thing I’ve learnt over the years it’s this – it’s never an accident when the Belgians are involved