Joseph-Maurice Remouchamps (Liege)

Joseph-Maurice Remouchamps, born in Liege on October 24th, 1877, deceased in Liege on January 26th, 1939, is a Belgian political personality and a Walloon militant which played a big role in the Walloon Assemblée of which he became the secretary in 1919 to replace there Jules Destrée which came from ête appointed Minister for sciences and arts. In order to solve the Community Problems, it recommended what one called the bilateral vote, that is to say the need for any law for obtaining the majority within the members of Parliament, respectively, Walloons and Flemish. Sitting at the Senate of 1921 to 1925, it on the occasion to defend there this proposal for a revision of the Constitution approved by the Walloon members of Parliament liberal and socialist but rejected unanimously by the Flemish members of Parliament, on November 19th, 1921 is a few weeks after the same Flemish majority imposed on the Parliament the unilinguism administrations in Flanders.

Joseph Remouchamps opposed the Fédéralisme because, Wallon and Belgian of heart, he did not want that its Walloon compatriots give up the French-speaking Flemings. It is inter alia its position which brought Jules Destrée and other notorious federalists to leave the Walloon Parliament. At the time of the electoral campaign of 1936, the Walloon Parliament was favorable to the ideas Rexisme out of linguistic matter (freedom of the father as regards the choice of the language of enseignemen in Brussels, respect of the communal autonomy, referendum of popular initiative) and as regards regional decentralization, with a bilingualism of the services (and not of the people) in the administration with Brussels. The Walloon Assemblée violently was blamed for these reasons by the Walloon militants of Liege joined together around the Walloon Action, which undoubtedly marked definitively discredit dde this organization where two rexists Paul Collet and Joseph Mignolet sat. the Walloon Action also reproached Remouchamps its contacts with Leon Degrelle, contacts which he did not deny but which he replaça within the framework of those which he maintained as member this semi-official Parliament which wanted to be the Walloon Parliament with the politicians of all tendencies.