A Belgium farmer almost found himself in the middle of an international incident after he inadvertently redrew his country’s border with France.
The farmer became annoyed when a large stone kept getting in his tractor’s path so he moved it 2.29m out of his way. However the stone was actually two-hundred year old border stone, marking the boundary between the two countries.
An amateur historian, who was walking nearby spotted the territorial change and alerted the authorities.
The 620km border between France and Belgium was established five years after Napoleon Bonaparte’s defeat at the Battle of Waterloo.
Despite taking land from France, the two mayors of the neighbouring towns have seen the funny side.
David Lavaux, mayor of the Belgium village of Erquelinnes, pointed out that it was “not a good idea” and the farmer was now was legally obliged to move the border stone back.
“We have no interest in expanding the town or the country. He made Belgium bigger and France smaller. It’s not a good idea,” he said. “If he shows goodwill, he won’t have a problem, we will settle this issue amicably.”
Mayor of the neighbouring French village Aurelie Welonek joked: “We should be able to avoid a new border war.”
Local authorities plan to contact the farmer to ask him to return the stone to its original location.
LSL News.