An Essay

Sérieusement, vous pouvez, vous, faire un essai en moins de 500 mots ? Moi qui suis habitué aux trois pages minimum... Le plus dur n'a pas été de l'écrire mais de le raccourcir. Ci-dessous ma version finale, c'est-à-dire la version corrigée par Lance (pour ne pas dire réécrite, je pense d'ailleurs que ma prof va se poser des questions...)

Essay

About Belgium

A lot of people do not know that, sometimes, the biggest political crises happen in countries that are closer than we might think. For example, the world record for a country without any government belongs to Belgium, a small country in Western Europe that is divided in two parts : the Dutch-speaking part in the north and the French-speaking part in the south. 

This story begins in the early 19th century, during a tormented period of nationalism in European history. At that time, the Belgian people were oppressed by the Dutch monarchy because of the Treaty of Vienna (signed after the defeat of Napoleon the First). The victorious countries decided to keep the boundaries and to give the territory of what is now Belgium to the Netherlands. But divisions between Protestants and Catholics, and French culture and Dutch culture, made this new kingdom explode after 15 years. Belgium was created around the French culture, the Catholic religion and the industries of the south.

During the creation of the country, the Flemish people in the north were forgotten, their language overlooked, and their culture (which was actually very important during the Renaissance) was left behind. Even during World War One, French-speakers officers sent poor Flemish soldiers to their deaths, largely because these guys weren't able to understand a word of their orders, all given in French. This situation was the norm until the 1960's, even if Dutch was an official language of the kingdom. During this decade and the entire period following World War Two, the industries based on coal and coal mining were in their end, and the northern industries based on the sea trade were very interesting. 

So now although the relationship is reversed, the situation can be seen a worse than before because the Dutch-speaking people want revenge. But if you look at the facts, both parts are complementary around the capital city of Brussels, which is also the capital city of the European Union and NATO. Both communities of Belgium have a common interest in cooperation and reconstruction of the nation. That's what the European President - who is Belgian - thinks. That's what a large majority of Belgians think. And, that's what is good for the country, my country, as I see it.