Thegeneral strike of 1960–1961 (French:Grève générale de 1960–1961), known popularly inWallonia as theStrike of the Century (Grève du Siècle), was a major series of strikes inBelgium which began on 14 December 1960 and lasted approximately six weeks.
The general strike was instigated by the militant trade union, theGeneral Labour Federation of Belgium (Fédération Générale du Travail de Belgique, or FGTB;Algemeen Belgisch Vakverbond, ABVV), against an attempt by the government ofGaston Eyskens to improve the state of Belgium's public finances after the independence of theBelgian Congo by introducing a series ofausterity measures known as theUnitary Law (Loi Unique orEenheidswet). It has been described as "one of the most serious class confrontations in Belgium's social history"; it brought 700,000 workers out on strike.[1] There were a number of clashes between strikers and the police,Gendarmerie, andBelgian Army. In one incident, theLiège-Guillemins railway station was ransacked by strikers on 6 January 1961. Although the strike began across Belgium, it soon lost momentum inFlanders, where workers returned to work after a few days. The strike continued for several weeks in Wallonia, a region largely reliant onheavy industry and already starting to experiencedeindustrialization. The law was eventually passed on 14 February 1961. Four strikers died.
The strike is considered a key moment for theWalloon Movement and an influence on the formation of Walloon identity. It led to the foundation of a new ideology ofRenardism which linked Walloon nationalism withsyndicalism. The strike also led to the creation of the pro-federalistWalloon Popular Movement (Mouvement Populaire Wallon, MPW) in 1961 and an increasing polarization between Flemish and Walloons which culminated, from the late 1960s, in the "Linguistic Wars" and, ultimately, inBelgium's gradual transformation into afederal state.
The 1983 filmWinter 1960 is based on the strike. The strike was the subject of the documentary filmLorsque le bateau de Léon M. descendit la Meuse pour la première fois (1979) by theDardenne brothers.
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