Front Démocratique des Francophones

(FDF)

   The Front démocratique des Francophones was formed in 1965 by proponents as well as opponents of federalization for the purpose of defending French-language rights in Brussels. The party won 10 percent of the vote in its first contested elections and saw its proportion increase to 18.6 percent in 1971 when, with allied parties, it secured an absolute majority in the Brussels agglomeration elections. It retained sizable support (39.6 percent in 1974, 34.9 percent in 1977, and 35.1 percent in 1978) until its share collapsed to 20.3 percent in 1981 when voter unrest over an economic downturn eclipsed concern over community and regional issues. In the 1970s and 1980s, the FDF supported full region-alization with maximum autonomy for Brussels. Party members participated in the Egmont Pact (1977). Schisms in the late 1970s and early 1980s, notably the departure of leaders Serge Moureaux and Léon De-fosset to form the Rassemblement démocratique bruxellois in 1984, left the party increasingly isolated. Establishment of the Brussels Capital Region in 1989 enabled the FDF to reestablish a modest presence, and it garnered approximately 10 percent of the vote in elections in the 1990s.

   See also Political Parties.