What led to the tension between the French-speaking and Dutch-speaking communities in Belgium in 1950s-1960s

What led to the tension between the French-speaking and Dutch-speaking communities in Belgium in 1950s-1960s.

Belgium is a small country in Europe sharing its borders with the Netherlands, France, Luxemborg, and Germany. It has a population of a little over 10 million and ethnic composition of the country is:

  1. Of Belgium’s total population, 59 % live in Flemish region and speak Dutch language. Another 40% live in Wallonia region and speak French. Remaining 1% of the Belgians speak German.
  2. In the Capital city Brussels, 80% speak French while 20% are Dutch speaking.
  3. The minority French speaking community is relatively rich and powerful so the majority Dutch community showed resentment against it. This led to tension between the Dutch and French speaking communities in 1950-1960s.
  4. The conflict between the Dutch speaking and French speaking was more severe in Brussels because here, the Dutch speaking people were a minority. Therefore, the ethnic struggle in Belgium originated from tensions between the Dutch and French communities in Belgium.