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The Six are the six communes in the border around Brussel, where facilities have been granted to French-speaking inhabitants, namely Wemmel, Kraainem , Wezembeek-Oppem, Drogenbos, Linkebeek and Sint-Genesius-Rode. From time to time, the FDF (Front Démocratique des Francophones, Democratic Front of the French-speaking) pleas for an extension of the facilities to the communes of Tervuren, Hoeilaart and Overijse, now still Flemish communes.
The French-speaking inhabitants moved to these communes mainly in the fifties and the sixties, fleeing from the city of Brussel into the Flemish suburbs. Originally, the facilities were meant to be transitional measures, so the French-speaking inhabitants could adopt theirselves to the Flemish (and therefore Dutch-spoken) character of the region. That was how it was planned to be in 1963, but over the years, the facilities have been used to a further Frenchification and a take-over of the political power in the communes.
In accordance with the agreement of 1973, the Flemish Community pays subsidies to the French-speaking primary schools in the communes. This means that the Flemish Community guarantees infrastructure, and pays for operational and personnel costs. In 1995, this amounted to a total of almost 5,45 million euro. At the same time, the French Community is responsible for the pedagogical quality of the education. The instruction in Dutch language classes is being neglected grossly, in contrast to the fact that knowledge of this language should be considered important in these Flemish communes.
Until 1988, the legal situation of the Six didn't change much, in spite of the constitutional reforms of 1970 and 1980. However, in 1988, the facilities were buoyed, in exchange for the protection of the Flemish through so-called consensus-deputies. The facilities are buoyed, in the sense that it will be practically impossible in the future to abolish them. First of all, a two-third majority will be needed in the federal parliament, and on top of that a majority in the parliaments of the Flemish and French (Walloon) communities. Even if a two-third majority could be found in the federal parliament, it still is very much doubtable that a majority would also be found in the French parliament, unless other severe Flemish bargains would be coupled to them.
At the occasion of the celebrations of the 11th of July in 1995, the Flemish minister-president Luc van den Brande and the governor of Vlaams-Brabant Lode de Witte made an appeal to abolish the facilities, because they didn't reach their goal. This caused furious reactions in Brussel's French-speaking circles and by the Walloon politicians, who even mentioned ethnic cleansing. Philippe Moureaux , maire of Molenbeek and former vice-prime minister for the PS (Parti Socialiste, the Walloon Socialist Party), reacted saying the Walloons would demand a bi-regional status both for the Six as well as for Voeren at future communautarian negotiations.
About one year later, in April 1996, Luc van den Brande proposed that the Flemish Region would regulate the language facilities, if they would continue to exist at all. He wanted to achieve this by moving the law organizing the municipalities and provinces from the federal level to the regional level.