DéFI (), a

backronym A backronym is an acronym formed from an already existing word by expanding its letters into the words of a phrase. Backronyms may be invented with either serious or humorous intent, or they may be a type of false etymology or folk etymology. The ...

of Démocrate fédéraliste indépendant () is a regionalist and social-liberal

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

mainly known for defending French-speakers' interests in and near the

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

region. Founded in 1964, the party is led by Sophie Rohonyi, a former member of the Chamber of Representatives. The party's current name, ''DéFI'' or ''Défi'', was adopted in 2016 and is a

of ''Démocrate, Fédéraliste, Indépendant'' () meaning "challenge" in French.

History

The party was founded as the Democratic Front of Francophones (''Front Démocratique des Francophones'', FDF) on 11 May 1964 as a response to the language laws of 1962. The party had instant success in Brussels: it first contested parliamentary elections one year later, where it won one senator and 3 seats in the Chamber of Representatives for the constituency of Brussels. Its number of seats increased further in the subsequent parliamentary elections. The party also dominated Brussels' municipal politics until 1982. Initially the party cooperated with the Walloon Rally. From 1977 until 1980, the FDF participated in the federal governments led by Leo Tindemans and subsequently Wilfried Martens. From 1992, the FDF regularly competed in electoral alliance with the larger Liberal Reformist Party (PRL). In 2002 the PRL, the FDF, the MCC and the PFF formed the Reformist Movement (MR), a closer alliance of Francophone liberal parties. In January 2010 the party name was amended to Francophone Democratic Federalists (''Fédéralistes Démocrates Francophones''), maintaining its original acronym. In September 2011, the FDF decided to leave the alliance over disagreements with MR president

Charles Michel Charles Michel (; born 21 December 1975) is a Belgian politician who served as the president of the European Council from 2019 to 2024. He previously served as the Prime Minister of Belgium, prime minister of Belgium between 2014 and 2019. Miche ...

on the agreement concerning the splitting of the Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde district during the 2010–2011 Belgian government formation. The party adopted its current name, DéFI, in November 2015.

Policies

The party advocates the extension of the bilingual status of

to some

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in the Brussels Periphery (in Flemish Brabant,

Flemish Region The Flemish Region (, ), usually simply referred to as Flanders ( ), is one of the three communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, regions of Belgium—alongside the Wallonia, Walloon Region and the Brussels, Brussels-Capital Region. ...

), where a majority of the population has become French-speaking in recent years, but whose official language remains Dutch. The party advocates for the right to use French rather than Dutch when dealing with local authorities in Flanders. This demand is rejected by Flemish parties, who say that French-speaking residents of the Flemish Region should learn Dutch and argue that the Francization of Brussels should not be allowed to expand into Flanders.

Representation

Notable elected members include: * Véronique Caprasse, member of the Chamber of Representatives for Brussels and former mayor of Kraainem (2013–2015) *

Bernard Clerfayt Bernard Clerfayt (; born 30 December 1961, in Uccle) is a Belgian politician. He has been the mayor of Schaerbeek since 2001 and is currently vice-president of the Front Démocratique des Francophones (FDF). As is common in Belgium, he holds a ...

, mayor of

Schaerbeek (French language, French, ; former History of Dutch orthography, Dutch spelling) or (modern Dutch language, Dutch, ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels, Brussels-Capital Reg ...

since 2000 and member of the Brussels Parliament * , Minister in the Vervoort II Brussels Government (2014–2019) and mayor of Auderghem * Cécile Jodogne, Secretary of State in the Vervoort II Brussels Government (2014–2019) * Olivier Maingain, former party leader, member of the Chamber of Representatives for Brussels since 1991 and mayor of Woluwe-Saint-Lambert since 2006

Election results

Chamber of Representatives

European Parliament

References

Bibliography

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Federalistes Democrates Francophones Centrist parties in Belgium Francophone political parties in Belgium Liberal parties in Belgium Political parties established in 1964 1964 establishments in Belgium Regionalist parties