A Belgian mayor is partially closing a border crossing with France ahead of the huge Euro 2024 knockout match between the countries on Monday.
Wervik, a town of about 18,000 people in west Flanders, will on Monday afternoon block the bridge connecting it to its French sister town, Wervicq-Sud, with large concrete blocks, allowing only pedestrians and cyclists to cross.
The measure is an attempt to avoid unruly French football fans driving into town and causing a ruckus, Wervik’s Mayor Youro Casier said.
“The French are much more chauvinistic than we are. We know from experience that after a French victory they like to provoke ‘les petits Belges’ again and tease them with their cars,” he said, according to Flemish public broadcaster VRT.
“They come driving around here, start honking and get out to dance in the streets. We want to avoid triggering people to do stupid things,” he added.
He clarified that “the French can cross the bridge on foot or by bike” but predicted few would make the effort.
“And above all: they cannot honk,” he said.
The bridge will be blocked to cars at 5 p.m. on Monday, just before the start of the match between Belgium’s Red Devils and France’s Les Bleus, and reopen at 6 a.m. on Tuesday.
France is tipped to win the showdown and sail through to the Euro 2024 quarterfinals. When the teams met in the 2018 World Cup semifinal, France emerged 1-0 winners.
The mayor noted that the bridge was also closed to vehicles for that tense 2018 encounter.