Belgian television declares the independence of the Flanders region

Belgian television, RTBF, sent a wave of panic across the country by interrupting a programme, on Wednesday December 13th, to announce that the Flanders region had just proclaimed its independence. It then proposed a special programme on the subject, explaining only a few minutes later that the information was false, a fictional invention aimed at fuelling the debate on the country's partition. Pierre Bouillon is severely critical of the programme which frightened numerous viewers. "The press's status does not permit it to create such a stir with a scenario, albeit 'realistic'. We are being told that the programme was an 'eye opener', helping Belgians to grasp the reality of our institutional debate and its possible consequences. Basically using fiction to show that separatism is not ... 'fiction'. This is an admission of failure. Does informing no longer suffice to inform? Is the debate only possible now at the cost of an artificial electric shock?"

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