France – Belgium: "It's more than a neighbor, a little more than a friend" – CM 2018

CM 2018
            

Bleus

Published on Sunday, July 8, 2018 at 11:47

The French and Belgian Prime Ministers, Edouard Philippe and Charles Michel, returned to the JDD on the links between the two countries before the Tuesday's semifinal

French Prime Ministers Edouard Philippe and Belgian Charles Michel came back on the strong bond between the two countries, in an interview at Journal du Dimanche published two days before the World Cup semi-final between the two countries.
        

Showing himself an amateur of Jacques Brel, Asterix and Tintin, Edouard Philippe, who will follow "inevitably" the match between the two teams Tuesday from his office, points out that Belgium, "It's more than a neighbor, a little more than a friend, even. We have more than one border in common: a history, a culture ".
        

"Impatient" before the semifinal, Charles Michel said the pride of his "small country" to have "this great team, which makes evolve a lot of individual talents but plays collective ". "Flemings, Walloons (…) whatever our origins, in a country as diverse as Belgium, we will support our team of Red Devils" he notes .
        

"Who likes to chastise well" – Charles Michel
                                    

Betting on a 3-1 victory of the Blues, the French leader, who claims Flemish roots via his Lille mother, quotes among the Belgian traits "fantasy, openness, industrious temperament and meaning trade, that is, trade ".
        

"The links are deep and very natural" and "our societies are interconnected, including family ties, with thousands of binational couples" observes meanwhile Charles Michel.
        

But "who likes to chastise well" tackle the Belgian Prime Minister: "We find the French often pretentious and the French tend to find us ridiculous, especially because of our accent" .
        

Edouard Philippe finally welcomes the close anti-terrorist cooperation between the two countries and their common attachment to Europe. "Belgium believed very early in the construction of Europe and, unlike others, she was never tempted to go back" he greets. Also present in the semifinals, the English will appreciate.
        

With AFP