Editing Walloons (section)

===Brussels - not Walloon and mostly French-speaking===
Many non-French-speaking observers (over)generalize ''Walloons'' as a term of convenience for all Belgian French-speakers (even those born and living in the Brussels-Capital Region).  The mixing of the population over the centuries means that most families can trace ancestors on both sides of the linguistic divide.  But, the fact that Brussels is around 85% French-speaking, but is located in Dutch-speaking Flanders, has led to friction between the regions and communities.  The local dialect in Brussels, ''Brussels Vloms'', is a [[Brabantic]] dialect, reflecting the Dutch heritage of the city.

Walloons are historically credited with pioneering the [[Industrial Revolution]] in Continental Europe in the early 19th century.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2008/aug/07/eu "Walloons pioneered the industrial revolution in the Continent"], ''The Guardian'', 7 Aug 2008</ref> In modern history, Brussels has been the major town or the capital of the region. Because of long [[Spain|Spanish]] and minor French rule, French became the sole [[official language]].  After a brief period with Dutch as the official language while the region was part of the [[United Kingdom of the Netherlands]], the people reinstated French after achieving independence in 1830.  The Walloon region, a major coal and steel-producing area, developed rapidly into the economic powerhouse of the country.  Walloons (in fact French-speaking elites who were called ''Walloons'') became politically dominant.  Many Flemish immigrants came to work in Wallonia.  Between the 1930s and the 1970s, the gradual decline of steel and more especially [[coal mining|coal]], coupled with too little investment in service industries and light industry (which came to predominate in Flanders), started to tip the balance in the other direction.  Flanders became gradually politically and economically dominant.  In their turn, Walloon families have moved to Flanders in search of jobs.{{Citation needed|date=December 2007}} This evolution has not been without political repercussions.