French Community Day in Belgium

Day of the French CommunityThe Belgian Revolution broke out on the night of August 25, 1830, after the first production of Daniel François Esprey’s sentimental and patriotic opera La Muette de Portici. The opera, depicting the rebellion of Neapolitan fishermen against Spanish rule in 1647 and saturated with Neapolitan melodies, found a warm response in the hearts of the audience.

After the premiere, the crowd burst into the streets, shouting patriotic slogans ... and seized the government building. The uprising soon spread throughout the country.

As a result of the unrest, Holland lost control of the rebel territory. The Russian Emperor Nicholas I, as the “gendarme of Europe”, even prepared an invasion of revolutionary Belgium, but was distracted: in November 1830, the Poles rebelled.

King William I tried to restore order by force, but the royal army failed to suppress the uprising - the attempt resulted in bloody street fighting, lasting 3 days - from 23 to 26 September. A provisional government was announced in Brussels on September 26. Belgium was declared an “independent and ever-neutral state.”

In commemoration of this victory, on June 24, 1975, it was decided to celebrate September 27 as French Community Day, the first time it was celebrated the same year.