State Visit from France to Belgium: 19-20 November


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After the invitation of the King Philippe and the Queen Mathilde, the President of France Emmanuel Macron and his wife make a State visit to Belgium.

https://www.monarchie.be/nl/agenda/staatsbezoek-aan-belgie-frankrijk

And the program of this visit:

"Monday's program includes a welcoming ceremony on the Place des Palais in Brussels, a visit to Ghent (the MSK Museum of Fine Arts) and the Town Hall) and a state banquet in Laeken. . On Tuesday they will go to Molenbeek (The Valley) and Ittre (The House)"

https://www.monarchie.be/fr/agenda/visite-detat-en-belgique-france
 
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Interesting that Molenbeek is on the agenda. Usually a State Visit is to show the best and the most beautiful of one's country to the distinghuised guests, but Molenbeek is a very paupered part of Brussels, often named a hell-hole and the cradle of the jihad. Many of the terrorists from the Paris attacks came from Molenbeek. A most remarkable choice to bring Monsieur le Président and the Première Dame to that filthy, graffiti-clad, depressing part of Brussels.

But maybe the President will be shown urban renewal projects, which maybe will be a ray of hope for the plagued residents of Molenbeek. It remains a remarkable choice to bring a visiting head of state, during a State Visit, to such an area.
 
Duc_et_Pair said:
Interesting that Molenbeek is on the agenda. Usually a State Visit is to show the best and the most beautiful of one's country to the distinghuised guests, but Molenbeek is a very paupered part of Brussels, often named a hell-hole and the cradle of the jihad. Many of the terrorists from the Paris attacks came from Molenbeek. A most remarkable choice to bring Monsieur le Président and the Première Dame to that filthy, graffiti-clad, depressing part of Brussels.

But maybe the President will be shown urban renewal projects, which maybe will be a ray of hope for the plagued residents of Molenbeek. It remains a remarkable choice to bring a visiting head of state, during a State Visit, to such an area.
Click to expand...

Thought exactly the same thing...
 
Duc_et_Pair said:
Interesting that Molenbeek is on the agenda. Usually a State Visit is to show the best and the most beautiful of one's country to the distinghuised guests, but Molenbeek is a very paupered part of Brussels, often named a hell-hole and the cradle of the jihad. Many of the terrorists from the Paris attacks came from Molenbeek. A most remarkable choice to bring Monsieur le Président and the Première Dame to that filthy, graffiti-clad, depressing part of Brussels.

But maybe the President will be shown urban renewal projects, which maybe will be a ray of hope for the plagued residents of Molenbeek. It remains a remarkable choice to bring a visiting head of state, during a State Visit, to such an area.
Click to expand...

Molenbeek is also an up & coming part of Brussels with great hubs for young entrepreneurs etc. It's much more than what some media have tried to portray it ("hell hole", please :lol:). I'm often in Molenbeek for work and I've never felt unsafe. It's just part of a big city.

Philippe & Mathilde have given extra attention to this part of the city because it's been treated very unfairly.
 
Hannelore said:
Molenbeek is also an up & coming part of Brussels with great hubs for young entrepreneurs etc. It's much more than what some media have tried to portray it ("hell hole", please [emoji38]). I'm often in Molenbeek for work and I've never felt unsafe. It's just part of a big city.

Philippe & Mathilde have given extra attention to this part of the city because it's been treated very unfairly.
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Often the poor, underdeveloped parts of a city is also the one with a vibrant art scene, small shops, local artisans and have many young professionals moving in to take advantage of both the hip surroundings and also the affordable housing.
 
Hannelore said:
Molenbeek is also an up & coming part of Brussels with great hubs for young entrepreneurs etc. It's much more than what some media have tried to portray it ("hell hole", please :lol:). I'm often in Molenbeek for work and I've never felt unsafe. It's just part of a big city.

Philippe & Mathilde have given extra attention to this part of the city because it's been treated very unfairly.
Click to expand...


Yes, even in the desert, there are flowers blooming.
But okay, the President wants to revive the banlieues around the big cities in France, so maybe he will be curious how Molenbeek deals with the serious urban and social problems it faces.

I have been in various Brussels municipalities like Jette, Molenbeek, Sint-Joost, and phew... it was really like a switch, entering a total different world. I hope the best for these cities, that they can find the key to renewal and rejuvenation. It is very urgently needed.
 
JR76 said:
Often the poor, underdeveloped parts of a city is also the one with a vibrant art scene, small shops, local artisans and have many young professionals moving in to take advantage of both the hip surroundings and also the affordable housing.
Click to expand...

Exactly! ?
 
Hannelore said:
Exactly! ?
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The focus will be a former industrial laundry site in Molenbeek, which is in transition to a centre for the arts and the neighbourhood.

La Vallée: http://festivalresonances.be/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/15.jpg

La Vallée inside: http://festivalresonances.be/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/37.jpg

If I was the Belgian host, I would have shown competitive and innovative companies like Showpad or Larian Studios in Ghent, MediaGenix in Brussels, IMEC or Layerwise in Leuven, or the gigantic data centre in Saint-Ghislain. But ok, apparently other choices are made by the proud (?) hosts.
 
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Nice ceremonial with the mounted escorte and a gentle handkiss from the President to the Queen.


I am surprised by the everyday camouflage dress of the guard of honour. No ceremonial uniforms?


Madame Macron looks trés elegant. I like her ton-sur-ton grey with autumnal colour accents.
 
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Duc_et_Pair said:
Nice ceremonial with the mounted escorte and a gentle handkiss from the President to the Queen.


I am surprised by the everyday camouflage dress of the guard of honour. No ceremonial uniforms?


Madame Macron looks trés elegant.
Click to expand...




Yes, that is odd, but the mounted guards wore ceremonial uniform.


I have a feeling that the Belgians are always on the low side on protocol. Even in the funerals of King Baudouin and Queen Fabiola, the honor guard did not wear ceremonial uniform.


I am looking forward to the state banquet and to seeing if Queen Mathilde will wear the full version of the Nine Provinces or only the base.
 
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Mbruno said:
Yes, that is odd, but the mounted guards wore ceremonial uniform.


I have a feeling that the Belgians are always on the low side on protocol. Even in the funerals of King Baudouin and Queen Fabiola, the honor guard did not wear ceremonial uniform.
Click to expand...


I think you are right, at the weddings and the funerals I have not seen ceremonial uniforms, apart from the mounted escorte. It is expensive to have a depôt for uniforms for thousands of guards, but it is only a fraction of the costs of one Leopard tank.
 
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I am eager to see if the president will once again wear his morning suit tonight for the banquet....! ;-D
 
Which means: 'Belgium Breaks' and 'Away with the monarchy'.

According to Wim Dehandschutter these people are members of 'Voorpost', an organisation that is active in Flanders, The Netherlands and South Africa and that wants to form the 'Greater Netherlands' by a unification of Flanders and the Netherlands. Within Flemish nationalists they belong to a very small fringe group.

The king will be used to these protestors -as they have been doing these kind of -very small- protests for two decades or so.

--
The president and Mrs. Macron also saw the Ghent Altarpiece. It was stolen 84 years ago. part of it was returned after the thiefs were paid one million Belgian francs. But the other part is still lost. In June an author claimed to have found the hiding place of the missing part:

https://nfw-news24.blogspot.com/2018/06/lost-piece-of-ghent-altarpiece-is.html
 
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wartenberg7 said:
I am eager to see if the president will once again wear his morning suit tonight for the banquet....! ;-D
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A morning suit is a jacquet and that is day wear.
Or do you mean: the same suit as this morning?
I hope the president will wear black tie or white tie.

But some politicians like the previous Chairman of the Chamber Mr André Flahaut, or the current one, Mr Siegfried Bracke (demonstratively?) wear an every-day sweaty wrinkled suit to a royal banquet. They seem not in the slightest ashamed for their exposed poor taste or manners. Or even the Prime Minister himself, Mr Charles Michel, just blatantly ignoring the dress code and showing up in black tie, while the event was white tie (see the state banquet in honour of Bundespräsident Gauck). I hope the gentlemen politicians will understand that some style is never a disadvantage...
 
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Marengo said:
Which means: 'Belgium Breaks' and 'Away with the monarchy'.

The king will be used to these protestors, Flemish nationalists, have been doing these kind of -very small- protests for two decades or so. According to Wim Dehandschutter these people are members of 'Voorpost', an organisation that is active in Flanders, The Netherlands and South Africa and that apparently wants to for the 'Greater Netherlands' by a unification of Flanders and the Netherlands (so still a tiny country ;). Within Flemish nationalists they are belonging to a very small fringe group.
Click to expand...


Thanks for the information, Marengo. According to Wikipedia, It looks like Voopost has neo-Nazi or, at least extreme-right leanings, is that correct ?
 
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Mbruno said:
Thanks for the information, Marengo. According to Wikipedia, It looks like Voopost has neo-Nazi or, at least extreme-right leanings, is that correct ?
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Yes. But the Flemish movement was elbows deep in collaboration with the Nazis, driven by the adagium "the enemy of my enemy is my friend". The radical Flemish hoped that the Germans would break the Francophone dominance in a country which was in majority Dutch-speaking. The Germans made good use of this open division in Belgian society.
 
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Duc_et_Pair said:
A morning suit is a jacquet and that is day wear.
Or do you mean: the same suit as this morning?
I hope the president will wear black tie or white tie.

But some politicians like the previous Chairman of the Chamber Mr André Flahaut, or the current one, Mr Siegfried Bracke (demonstratively?) wear an every-day sweaty wrinkled suit to a royal banquet. They seem not in the slightest ashamed for their exposed poor taste or manners. Or even the Prime Minister himself, Mr Charles Michel, just blatantly ignoring the dress code and showing up in black tie, while the event was white tie (see the state banquet in honour of Bundespräsident Gauck). I hope the gentlemen politicians will understand that some style is never a disadvantage...
Click to expand...

Macron wore a morning suit combined with white tie for the state banquet in Denmark instead of tails which looked quite funny!

Mbruno said:
According to the site owner, they were shouting "België Barst" and "Weg met de monarchie". Later, some royal fans responded shouting "Leve de Koning".
Click to expand...


These individuals, I have no better word for these persons, are such a disgrace and shame for their own country! What a hilarious thing to do during a state visit...!:ohmy::bang:
 
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Nico said:
Love Madame Macron's outfit... but the President in morning suit ... again.:bang:

Mathilde is looking spectacular.
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Are you sure? I think I can spot tails on his jacket...

Mathilde is just spectacular!!!
 
It seems no-one in the Élysée has a clue about gentlemen's Formal dress these days.. but I suppose M.Macron's predecessor did away with their services, preferring Lounge suits for every possible occasion...
 
Marchesina said:
Are you sure? I think I can spot tails on his jacket...

Mathilde is just spectacular!!!
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Mmmm i would say it's the same jacket from the banquet in Denmark .

edit : yep, that's the one !
 
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HTML: 
I can spot tails on his jacket...

You can..
He is [mistakenly] wearing a Black 'Morning Coat', which has 'Tails', but no 'cut-away' front, unlike the correct jacket for 'White-Tie' evening dress...
 

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wyevale said:
It seems no-one in the Élysée has a clue about gentlemen's Formal dress these days.. but I suppose M.Macron's predecessor did away with their services, preferring Lounge suits for every possible occasion...
Click to expand...

The thing is that one of his cultural advisors, Stephane Bern, is specialist of the Gotha, so this, yet again, fashion faux pas is baffling.
You have to shudder at the idea of the expected State visit to the UK in the upcoming years ...
 
You're right, wyevale! I saw the tails and my brain didn't process it could be a morning coat. You would think they have consultants to help them with protocol and dress code.

Duc_et_Pair said:
A morning suit is a jacquet and that is day wear.
Or do you mean: the same suit as this morning?
I hope the president will wear black tie or white tie.

But some politicians like the previous Chairman of the Chamber Mr André Flahaut, or the current one, Mr Siegfried Bracke (demonstratively?) wear an every-day sweaty wrinkled suit to a royal banquet. They seem not in the slightest ashamed for their exposed poor taste or manners. Or even the Prime Minister himself, Mr Charles Michel, just blatantly ignoring the dress code and showing up in black tie, while the event was white tie (see the state banquet in honour of Bundespräsident Gauck). I hope the gentlemen politicians will understand that some style is never a disadvantage...
Click to expand...

The Palace should be more strict about dress code rules and remind the guests to follow the white tie rule (seeing Belgian politicians in black tie or worse, business suits in one of the first state visits in Philippe's reign was frankly embarrassing, especially in comparison to the impeccable displays from other monarchies).
 
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