A farmer moved the border between France and Belgium so his tractor could have more room

The border between Belgium and France has been in large part solid for 200 years.

this is till a Belgian farmer aggravated with the location of one of the stones marking the storied territorial divide inadvertently shifted the border 7.five feet so his tractor could move extra without difficulty.

The border-dispute-that-wasn’t got here to mild when a historian taking walks alongside the demarcation line observed that the stone had migrated slightly into France, the BBC said.

The Belgian village of Erquelinnes, which lies alongside the 390-mile border with France, had as a result grown by seven feet. The French metropolis of Bousignies-sur-Roc in flip shed a range of inches.

“i was satisfied, my town was larger,” David Lavaux, the mayor of Erquelinnes, told French tv channel TF1, in keeping with the BBC. “however the mayor of Bousignies-sur-Roc didn’t agree.”

The stone in question dates to 1819, one year before the signing of the Treaty of Kortrijk, which set the modern-day barriers of the once-warring states, consistent with the BBC.

a whole lot has advanced in relations among Belgium and France inside the centuries given that Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo.

“We need to be able to keep away from a brand new border battle,” Aurélie Welonek, the mayor of Bousignies-sur-Roc, instructed a French newspaper.

The border-dispute-that-wasn’t got here to light when a historian strolling alongside the demarcation line noticed that the stone had migrated slightly into France, the BBC suggested.

The Belgian village of Erquelinnes, which lies along the 390-mile border with France, had as a end result grown by using seven feet. The French metropolis of Bousignies-sur-Roc in flip shed more than a few inches.

“i used to be glad, my city turned into bigger,” David Lavaux, the mayor of Erquelinnes, instructed French tv channel TF1, in line with the BBC. “but the mayor of Bousignies-sur-Roc didn’t agree.”

Belgian government informed the BBC that they’ll ask the farmer to transport the border returned. If he does now not comply, they may want to are trying to find assist from the Franco-Belgian border commission, which has now not been summoned due to the fact that 1930.