Complaint upheld against Belgian ticket inspector who said ‘bonjour’ in Flanders | Belgium

A complaint against a Belgian ticket inspector, who gave passengers a bilingual greeting in Dutch Flanders, was approved by shedding light on the country’s strict language laws.

Chief Ilyass Alba said Belgium’s Linguistics Control Commission approved a complaint made by a suburban in 2024. Passenger, Alba’nın French “Bonjour” used the word.

Alba said that he greeted the car with “Goeiedag, Bonjour“ (The Dutch and French good day) approached Vilvoorde (Vilvorde), the officially bilingual Brussels’ skirts.

The Commission approved his complaint that Alba should not use French in the Dutch -speaking part of the country, unless a passenger was approached by a French -speaking French.

“What a country!” Alba wrote on Facebook. He understood why a passenger will make such a complaint to protect his mother tongue, but he said, “When travelers around the world visited Belgium, he would decide in favor of the commission.

In his name, the commission created by the police in the language rules of Belgium in 1966, said that it maintains the law and only the legislature could make changes.

In accordance with the strict language rules of Belgium, the National Railway Service SNCB (Dutch NMBS) conductors should only use the Dutch, the Southern Speaking Frankophone region in Flanders, and both languages in French and Bilingual Brussels. The rule applies to passenger announcements and built -in electronic screens.

The local media said that the decision would not get any results beyond a warning for Alba, perhaps equally implemented to the employer. The railway operator played the incident and said that he wanted to greet all the passengers we attach great importance to a warm way ”.

When the case attracted the attention of the public, Belgium said that the “solid blind application of the rules ver was very logical, and that he accused the extreme right Vlaams Belang and nationalist new Flemish alliance parties to continue.

However, even politicians from non -separatist Flemish parties talked in favor of the rules.

Belgium’s Francophone’s public publisher RTBF said that the rules may seem absurd ,, but “reflects linguistic tensions that exceed numerous debates in our country. The softening of these rules does not appear on the agenda”.

Chef, who has He started selling cups “Goeiedag, with Bonjour Congratulations“He said that he received many support messages from Dutch speakers. He said that he did not call on the 1966 language law to make changes, and called for more flexibility. “No matter what, long live Belgium,” he said.