CD&V President Sammy Mahdi has firmly rejected any relaxation of the language rules on Belgian railways following a complaint filed against a train conductor who welcomed passengers in French whilst the train was still in Flanders.
Even though the conductor said nothing more than "Bonjour", a complaint was sent to the Permanent Commission for Language Control. At the time of the announcement the train was in Vilvoorde, Flanders.
In response, the outgoing Mobility Minister Georges Gilkinet (Ecolo) has called for a more flexible application of language laws. “Considering the small size of Belgium, our trains travel routes such as Antwerp to Charleroi and Liège to Ostend, passing through Brussels. Additionally, many tourists, including French and Dutch, take the train to Bruges or Dinant. It makes little sense, especially commercially, not to inform them in the language they understand,” he said to L’Avenir.
It's a view supported by the SNCB, which advocates passenger-centric communication in national languages, particularly for tourist destinations. They call for more flexibility and argue that the current regulations aren't clear enough.
But CD&V disagrees. Mahdi argues that relaxing these rules disrespects the Dutch language. “While the train conductor had good intentions, as a public authority we cannot simply disregard our language laws.” Easing the rules may discourage newcomers in Flanders from learning Dutch, he posited.
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The incident highlights Belgium’s delicate linguistic balance and has provoked reactions from other political parties. François De Smet (DéFI) stressed the absurdity of lodging a complaint over a French greeting in Flanders, suggesting it indicates a nationalist issue. Farah Jacquet (PTB) expressed solidarity with the train conductor for a gesture of politeness deemed excessive.
The train conductor, Ilyas Alba, responded to the social media queries by explaining that his brief greeting of “Goeiemorgen-Bonjour” before arriving in Vilvoorde was not an official announcement and was not illegal. He wished everyone a happy 2024 and expressed pride in belonging to a unified Belgian public service.
