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| Belgium Commemorates Waterloo With Euro, and France Is Not Pleased | Belgium Commemorates Waterloo With Euro, and France Is Not Pleased |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| LONDON — Paris, it seems, has been outflanked once again. | |
| After it objected to a decision in March by Belgium to introduce a new 2-euro coin to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Napoleon’s ignominious defeat at Waterloo, the Belgians retreated, scrapping 180,000 coins they had already minted. | |
| But in a style perhaps befitting a battle that ended French hegemony in Europe, victory is proving elusive. | |
| This week Belgium decided to circumvent French resistance by invoking an unlikely European Union rule that allows countries to issue euro coins of their choice, provided they are in an irregular denomination. | This week Belgium decided to circumvent French resistance by invoking an unlikely European Union rule that allows countries to issue euro coins of their choice, provided they are in an irregular denomination. |
| It unveiled a 2.50 euro coin — a first in Belgium — and has now begun minting 70,000 of them. They display a monument of a lion atop a cone-shaped hill on the site of France’s humiliation, as well as lines indicating where troops were positioned when forces led by Britain and Prussia defeated Napoleon on territory near Brussels. | |
| Johan Van Overtveldt, the Belgian finance minister, insisted on Monday that the new coins were not meant to provoke Gallic anger. | Johan Van Overtveldt, the Belgian finance minister, insisted on Monday that the new coins were not meant to provoke Gallic anger. |
| “The goal is not to revive old quarrels in a modern Europe — and there are more important things to sort out,” he was quoted as saying by Agence France-Presse. “But there’s been no battle in recent history as important as Waterloo, or indeed one that captures the imagination in the same way.” | “The goal is not to revive old quarrels in a modern Europe — and there are more important things to sort out,” he was quoted as saying by Agence France-Presse. “But there’s been no battle in recent history as important as Waterloo, or indeed one that captures the imagination in the same way.” |
| There is no doubt that the European Union has bigger battles to fight at the moment. But in its small way, the skirmish has signaled the challenges facing European integration, and the limits of Europe’s open borders at overcoming old-style nationalist impulses. | There is no doubt that the European Union has bigger battles to fight at the moment. But in its small way, the skirmish has signaled the challenges facing European integration, and the limits of Europe’s open borders at overcoming old-style nationalist impulses. |
| Tensions among the 19 countries that use the euro have mounted weekly, as Greece teeters perilously close to defaulting on its debt — much of it owed to its European Union partners — and as a backlash against German-style austerity shows little sign of abating. | Tensions among the 19 countries that use the euro have mounted weekly, as Greece teeters perilously close to defaulting on its debt — much of it owed to its European Union partners — and as a backlash against German-style austerity shows little sign of abating. |
| But history has its own currency in Europe, which even a common currency has yet to overcome. Back in March, officials in Paris wrote a letter to European authorities insisting that the Battle of Waterloo, which took place on June 18, 1815, and altered the shape of European history, had deep and damaging resonance in the collective French consciousness. | But history has its own currency in Europe, which even a common currency has yet to overcome. Back in March, officials in Paris wrote a letter to European authorities insisting that the Battle of Waterloo, which took place on June 18, 1815, and altered the shape of European history, had deep and damaging resonance in the collective French consciousness. |
| France protested Belgium’s plans for its original coin by saying that basking in France’s defeat threatened to undermine European unity, troubled enough already. The 2-euro coin, it said, could spur an “unfavorable reaction in France.” And the coin’s design, “the French argued, was “prejudicial, in a context where the governments of the eurozone are trying to strengthen unity and cooperation throughout the monetary union.” | France protested Belgium’s plans for its original coin by saying that basking in France’s defeat threatened to undermine European unity, troubled enough already. The 2-euro coin, it said, could spur an “unfavorable reaction in France.” And the coin’s design, “the French argued, was “prejudicial, in a context where the governments of the eurozone are trying to strengthen unity and cooperation throughout the monetary union.” |
| In Belgium, a fragile country riven by its own linguistic divisions whose iconic monument is a small boy urinating into a fountain, the victory embodied in the 2.50 euro coin is being lauded as if the tiny country had itself triumphed on the battlefield. | In Belgium, a fragile country riven by its own linguistic divisions whose iconic monument is a small boy urinating into a fountain, the victory embodied in the 2.50 euro coin is being lauded as if the tiny country had itself triumphed on the battlefield. |
| “Belgium creativity at its best!” Jean-Yves Jault, the Brussels — based head of corporate communications for Toyota Europe, boasted on Twitter. | “Belgium creativity at its best!” Jean-Yves Jault, the Brussels — based head of corporate communications for Toyota Europe, boasted on Twitter. |
| Nevertheless, the move has inspired no little annoyance in France. An article on the website of BFMTV, the French broadcaster, noted that 200 years later, the defeat of Napoleon was “still hard to swallow.” | Nevertheless, the move has inspired no little annoyance in France. An article on the website of BFMTV, the French broadcaster, noted that 200 years later, the defeat of Napoleon was “still hard to swallow.” |
| The article asked whether France was a “poor loser,” even as it stressed that the 2.50 euro coin would be illegal outside of Belgium, where it is to be sold in plastic bags, at a cost of €6. | The article asked whether France was a “poor loser,” even as it stressed that the 2.50 euro coin would be illegal outside of Belgium, where it is to be sold in plastic bags, at a cost of €6. |
| In Britain, where the 19th century poet laureate Robert Southey called the Battle of Waterloo “the greatest deliverance that civilized society has experienced” since an eighth century battle fended off Islamic conquest of Europe, the new 2.50 euro coin aroused similar adulation. | In Britain, where the 19th century poet laureate Robert Southey called the Battle of Waterloo “the greatest deliverance that civilized society has experienced” since an eighth century battle fended off Islamic conquest of Europe, the new 2.50 euro coin aroused similar adulation. |
| “Well done Belgium, beat the French at their own game of finding ways around EU rules, the English should take note!!” Michael Dunn, from Stratford-upon-Avon, wrote on Twitter. | “Well done Belgium, beat the French at their own game of finding ways around EU rules, the English should take note!!” Michael Dunn, from Stratford-upon-Avon, wrote on Twitter. |
| Others were less impressed. Responding to the dispute on Facebook, Manuel Di Pietrantonio, suggested that the value of the controversy was about 2.50 euros. | Others were less impressed. Responding to the dispute on Facebook, Manuel Di Pietrantonio, suggested that the value of the controversy was about 2.50 euros. |