The new ruler of the United Kingdom, William I, gave Dutch the status of "national language" in order to reduce the influence of French ideas.
"[7] The linguistic barrier "acquired administrative significance for the first time in 1822 with William I's legislation on the use of Dutch in Flemish communes.
Born in Flanders and in Brussels, a French-speaking movement was set up within civil servant circles to combat the introduction of Dutch as the language of administration.
For the first Walloon militants the recognition of Dutch meant job losses, the infantilisation of the culture, and an attack on national unity.
The liberal leading elements of the bourgeoisie consider the Flemish Movement as a machination proposing to keep the Dutch-speaking provinces under the heel of religion.
It regards the acquisition of the French language as a form of adhesion to Belgium and to the great principles of freedom in the Constitution.
In 1895 the Society of Walloon Propaganda asked deputies to leave an assembly when a French-speaking orator presented a speech in Dutch.
The law reminded the Walloon Movement that their privileges were endangered by the recognition of Dutch as an official language for administration and justice.
The Walloon Movement, once confined to Brussels and Flanders, grew because of increased participation from French-speaking Belgians living in the south.
Before the Coremans-De Vriendt law, the idea of the equality of all languages was not accepted by Walloon militants who considered Flemish to be an idiom.
We do not attack the Flemings, but we intend to whip the flamingant exaggerations that threaten the integrity of the Belgian fatherland.
The congress of 1905 reunited twenty-five societies and liberal minded politicians, artists, and industrialists who were inhabitants of Liège.
Another political shift started during this period with socialists joining the Walloon Movement in increasing numbers.
The defeat of the socialist-liberal political alliance by the Catholic Party initiated a profound change within the movement.
This political proposal, already timidly advanced since 1897 and 1898 respectively per Albert Mockel and Julien Delaite, becomes one of the principal claims of Walloon Movement starting from this "Congress of combat" as its organizers define it.
In spite of the defense of unionistic theses, the policies of the Walloon movement are shown intended to irrevocably divide Belgium.
Extremely agitated period of toughening as show the events happened during the "Joyeuse Entrée" of king Albert I in Liège on 13 July 1913 when he is welcome by separatists demonstrations: The socialist and republican newspaper Le Peuple wrote "When, between provincial palate and the Town hall, crowd breaks the police cords protecting the king, the exasperated wallonisants benefit from the distress for to express with the royal family their aspirations of independence.
Holding up the Walloon flag with the red cock, they precipitate towards the pram and balance under the nose of the king the new colors".
During World War I, on 3 May 1918, an informant of the Belgian Embassy in the Netherlands sent this report to this Embassy: As determined by domestic policy, the ruling of the country belongs to a party which leans principally on the Flemish and agricultural regions of Belgium while the Walloon and industrial regions of the country are totally excluded from this running.
Even though the majority of the wallingant and flamingant organizations ceased their activities, a minority of Walloon and Flemish militants collaborated with the Germans.
[30] Since 1920, the Assembly undergoes a large disaffection and loses its more famous names whereas create for themselves dissenting leagues a little everywhere.
A text of resolution was redesigned, and the unanimity of congress members ratified it, except 9 abstentions mainly from delegates of the Arrondissement of Brussels.
Moreover, many Dutch-speakers settle in the South of the country to work, a fact not appreciated by the wallingants because these new populations are often close to the Catholic Party and could call into question the unilinguism of Wallonia, as stated by the liberal François Bovesse: Walloons!
The prolific Flanders is invading us slowly; if those who come to us and that we welcome fraternally isolate themselves in Flemish linguistic groups, if some fanaticism helps them to not be absorbed, if a blurred administrative legislation in linguistic matters favours this non-absorption, Walloons, beware; in fifty years your land won't be yours any more.
[31]At the same time, the linguistic law is also regarded as dangerous by Flemish militants because according to them, it contributes to territorial nibbling in favour of the French language.
[33] The congress of 1937 is the abandonment of the federalist project for confederalism in order to favor a Walloon foreign policy, notoriously pro-French.
The first one created was the Walloon League of Deux-Houdeng in 1938, following Albert du Bois' rattachist thought, but disappeared rapidly.
Without any backup from Walloon associations and with only two important figures with Jules Mahieu and Arille Carlier, this wallingant party got only 10,000 votes in the seven counties where it was present.