Walloon

The Walloons are French-speaking Belgians from Wallonia. They are one of the two major groups in Belgium, the other being the Dutch-speaking Flemish. In the 20th century, the Flemish were culturally and economically dominant over the Walloons. This has not always been so. Before the crisis of mining industries the Walloons in southern Belgium have been dominant. This is the reason why French rather than Dutch was the colonial language in Congo, and the currency of Belgium was and is called the Belgian franc.

Note that when refering to inhabitants of Wallonia with the meaning of citizen of Wallonia, the word Wallonian is more commonly used. All Wallonians are not French-speaking, there is also a German-speaking community at the East of the country.

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Walloon[?] is also a romance language spoken in Wallonia, in a small portion in north of France and in the Green Bay region of Wisconsin, USA (where an important number of Walloon settlers came in the 19th century).